commentary by Patrick H. Moore
I’ve written before about the fact that child abuse, both physical and sexual, is one of our major social problems, and at times, I’ve even suggested that it is our PRIMARY social problem. My opinion on this has not changed but with the caveat that much of this agony could be avoided if prospective parents of any age would take a long look at themselves and realize that they’re either too immature or too irresponsible to raise children successfully.
This is no knock on those who realize that they would not make suitable parents, and therefore decline to enter the parenthood sweepstakes. In fact, I applaud these sage souls and invoke Socrates’ well-known statement: “Know thyself.”
(‘Know Thyself’ was written on the forecourt of the Temple of Apollo at Delphi. Legend tells us that seven sages of ancient Greece — philosophers, statesmen and law-givers gathered in Delphi to inscribed ‘know thyself’ at the entry to its sacred oracle.)
A recent tragic case out of Grand Junction, Colorado hammers home these cruel facts. An 11-month-old foster child named Angel Lane Place was allegedly killed by her foster mother, Sydney Danielle White, who was only 20 year old herself and had at least one other child of her own.
This is crazy. It doesn’t take a rocket scientist to determine that a 20-year-old woman may not be the best candidate for the supremely difficult task of foster parenting. Tom Boggioni of Raw Story writes:
An 11-month-old baby girl, taken from her mother by Colorado authorities after her boyfriend admitted to smoking marijuana, was allegedly killed by her foster mother, reports ABC7.
Sydney Danielle White, 20, of Grand Junction took an unresponsive baby, Angel Lane Place, to Children’s Hospital in Aurora, telling hospital staff that she had “accidentally dropped” the infant.
White later admitted to authorities that she had shaken the baby out of frustration because she couldn’t get her to stop crying.
Several points need to be made here. Although Ms. White initially tried to cover up what she had done, she appears to have admitted the truth fairly readily when questioned. Plus, she should be given some credit for taking the baby to the hospital after Angel Lane “became unresponsive”. But shaking an 11-month-old child hard enough to apparently cause her death, out of frustration, is a dead giveaway that Ms. White was in over her head.
And don’t think I am in any way excusing what she did. I’m not. But my point is that at her tender age, she should not have been in this situation in the first place.
The arrest affidavit states that Ms. White held the baby “by the neck with both hands and shook her multiple times.” She ultimately told the authorities that she came to her senses and stopped after one of her children entered the room and said, “Mommy, stop it.”
My God! If Ms. White is 20, her wise child can’t be more than 4 or so, can she? “From out of the mouths of babes.”
The police inform:
“White said the baby initially became lethargic and wouldn’t wake up, but that later she appeared to be doing better. Later that night White took Angel to St. Mary’s Hospital when Angel’s right side became stiff and she was unresponsive.”
Thus, there was conceivably a “window of chance” during which Ms. White could have rushed Angel Lane to the hospital, but she did not, probably out of fear and lack of knowledge. Could the child have been saved if she had taken her to ER? Not necessarily.
This is what we see over and over again in these cases. The severely abused child does not appear to be dying at first. Nothing is done until it’s definitely too late and the child is doomed.
The cause of death is listed as “blunt force head injuries,” and her death has been ruled a homicide.
Now for the next shocking fact in this unfortunate matter. Angel Lane’s biological mother Tierra Place is only 17 years old. That means she was 16 when the deceased child was born. And why was the child taken in by a foster parent? According to Tierra’s explanation, she had lost custody of Angel Lane because she and her boyfriend Ted Place were fighting and Ted admitted to human services that he used marijuana.
Is this an adequate reason to remove the child from her biological parents? I don’t know; I am curious to see what others with far more experience in this sort of thing than me think, and I hope that Lori, our expert in these matters, weighs in with her opinion. If I were to hazard a guess, I would suggest that a combination of factors led to the child’s removal: 1) the mother’s age; 2) the fact she and Ted were fighting; and 3) the fact Ted was smoking weed (which, by the way, is legal in Colorado).
Ladybud writes in her blog Ladybug.Gear:
Both the biological mother, Tierra Place, and the biological father were under the impression that Angel was safe, that the home had been adequately screened, and that Angel was developing in a healthy manner. Tierra says her brother checked in with her every day, and she thought her daughter was safe. In speaking with the local ABC outlet CALL7, she expressed her pain at having her daughter die while not in her custody. “This is like losing her twice. I don’t know how someone could possibly do that to a baby…Inside I know she is walking with God.”
Well, let’s hope the child is “walking with God” but in these “pot-life” matters there are no guarantees that I’m aware of.
And here’s yet another stunning fact:
Tierra Place approved Ms. White as the foster mother because White is her sister-in-law; the brother who “checked in with her every day” may well be married to Ms. White. Child Services has reported that the couple was in the process of adopting Angel.
And then for our final stunner:
Angel Lane’s father Ted Place has threatened to sue Mesa County.
“You know I was seeing pictures of her, seeing videos, you know she was doing good, she was making good progress, and I was ok with the situation she was in,” he said. “And then, all of a sudden, I had just found out that your daughter is in urgent care in Denver, Colorado, and you need to come there. I just want Mesa County to pay for what they’ve done.”
What has Mesa County done? Is Ted suggesting Mesa County was negligent in placing Angel Lane with Ms. White. How can this be, Angel Lane’s bio mother Tierra approved of Ms. White? But as I’ve stated above, considering she was only 20 years old, Ms. White does not appear to have been the best choice for a foster parent.
Of course, Ted is clearly frustrated by what has transpired. And it’s a frustration that will not be soothed by smoking another spliff.
At present, Sydney Danielle White has only been charged with child abuse, but more charges are expected as this tragic case moves forward.
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At the risk of sounding like a broken record, let me repeat: None of these folks should have been parents in the first place. Too young, too immature, simply not ready for the awesome responsibility of parenthood. As a result, an innocent life has been destroyed, and many other lives have been irrevocably harmed…