Home-School Horror tale

Yes, I know. Obviously, this little horror story is
not representative of home-schooling in general.

Still, I think it's worth considering in light of the
recent discussion we had here.

Had these kids been going to public school,
isn't there a strong likelihood that someone
would have come to realize at some point that
their mother was crazy as a landfill rat, and that
the children needed protection?

Perhaps not. But as it is, with her kids kept
away from the scrutiny of stangers, this
religion-addled psycho was able to do whatever
she wanted, with no possibility of oversight or
intervention.

The result can be seen below. Can anyone doubt
that the final insult that ended these kids' lives was
not the first abuse they had suffered?

Home-schooling may indeed be good for some families.
But it says here that any jurisdiction that allows it
should also ensure that kids kept out of public school
are regularly seen and interviewed (perhaps by a
doctor, nurse or CPS official) to ensure they're not
being subjected to abuse . . . or worse.

[PRE-EMPTIVE STRIKE (now official U.S. policy):
Anyone even thinking about countering the above
with the predictable nonsense about "parents' liberty
rights" or somesuch garbage can just kiss my ass right
now. There are no "liberty rights" (whatever they
are) to abuse your kids, so **** off, Fern.
Pre-emptively, of course]
===


Sunday, March 28, 2004
Texas Woman Who Stoned Sons Set for Trial

TYLER, Texas (AP) - Psychiatric experts for both the defense and
prosecution agree that Deanna Laney, scheduled to go on trial Monday,
was mentally ill last Mother's Day weekend when she stoned two of her
sons to death and severely injured a third.

But while her lawyers will try to prove she is innocent by reason of
insanity, prosecutors maintain she knew right from wrong and is guilty
of two counts of capital murder and one count of serious injury to a
child. The prosecution is not seeking the death penalty.

A jury of eight men and four women, chosen last week and immediately
sequestered because of media attention, was set to begin hearing the
case Monday.

Laney, 39, a deeply religious woman who home-schooled her children in
the tiny town of New Chapel Hill, 100 miles southeast of Dallas,
called 911 just after midnight on May 10 and told a dispatcher: ``I've
just killed my boys.''

She said God ordered her to do it.

Deputies found 8-year-old Joshua and 6-year-old Luke lying in the yard
in their underwear, their skulls smashed and stones the size of dinner
plates lying on their lifeless bodies. Their 14-month-old brother,
Aaron, was found in his crib, alive but bleeding from a fractured
skull, a pillow over his face. He is recovering.

Laney's husband, Keith, who apparently slept through the attacks, has
supported his wife, attending several court hearings over the past
year along with other family members.

State District Judge Cynthia Kent has ordered attorneys in the case
not to comment.

Attorneys not connected to the case said the nature of the crime will
make it difficult for a jury to find Laney innocent.

``You have totally blameless victims who are children,'' said Tyler
attorney David Dobbs, a former Smith County prosecutor who has tried
more than 20 capital murder cases. ``Blameless child victims just make
everybody take a deep breath.''

Jurors rejected an insanity defense for Andrea Yates, the Houston
mother who drowned her five children in their family's bathtub in June
2001 and told police the devil told her to do it. She is serving a
life sentence.

The insanity defense is always difficult to prove, even if experts on
both sides say that Laney was insane, attorneys say.

Psychiatric experts concluded Laney had four psychotic episodes before
the killings and probably had suffered from delusional psychotic
disorder for at least three years.

``The difficulty in this case is getting the jury to go from the
position that everybody thinks she's crazy to the position that she is
legally insane under Texas law,'' Dobbs said.

``It's a very hard standard. ... People can be really mentally ill but
if they have the capacity to understand that their conduct is wrong,
under our law, they are sane.''

Laney called 911 after the killings, which some say jurors could see
as an awareness of wrongdoing. Yates also called 911.

During jury selection, Smith County District Attorney Matt Bingham
urged jurors to consider that psychiatric evaluations were
``subjective opinions'' and suggested that mental health experts could
be misled.

``Mental illness does not equal insanity,'' Bingham told prospective
jurors.

George Parnham, who represented Andrea Yates, said Laney's attorneys
will have a difficult time getting the jurors to focus on her mental
illness rather than graphic images of dead children.

``That's a hurdle and it will always be until we reach a level of
sophistication regarding mental health,'' Parnham said.

Laney is not expected to testify, but her husband and his brother,
mother and sister are among probable witnesses.
===




--
The danger to the life and well-being of children
increases in direct proportion to their proximity
to religion and its practitioners.
-Ivan Gowch