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Mon 3 May, 2004 08:03 pm
http://www.cnn.com/2004/LAW/05/02/cancer.crime.ap/index.html
This is the story in a nutshell:
A 17 year old girl develops a bump on her chest that goes untreated. One night she develops a series of symptoms and her heart stops beating. She's revived but cannot walk or talk. It is determined the bump was actually Hodgkin's disease. The parents are jailed for negligence because they left their child's cancer go untreated. They are given 10 year sentences.
What do you think?
It seems like it's one of those things that depends on how you phrase it. Not enough info in the article you posted.
There were apparently several symptoms -- not only the bump (which must've been there quite a while, and which they knew about) but losing weight and losing control of her bowels. I could believe that they were criminally negligent, yes.
The judge granted Bill Conroy, 57, a week to say goodbye to his daughter before beginning his prison term.
What the heck is the matter with that goofy judge. The father watched as his daughter's disease progressed and did nothing medically to help her. He needed a week to say goodbye to her? 
Where were other family members? How about school? Something here just doesn't add up. There has to be more to this story.
These parents may or may not have been negligent, but lets get to the nitty gritty of the matter, if dad was a street sweeper and mom was a cleaner in an office building, what exactly are they supposed to do, take a medical degree before becoming cleaners just in case they ever need it?
This case smacks of the corrupt british legal system where "ignorance is no defence" So what should we all do take a law degree before becoming carpenters and plumbers?
I agree with doglover and sozobe. There HAS to be more to this story. She obviously did not decline in a few weeeks. People would have had to see that this kid was in trouble.
I would need to know more about this before I could offer an opinion!
The parents are obviously not competent. It depends how the line is drawn between mental deficiency and criminal conduct, looks like.
Re: Parents jailed for negligence
CerealKiller wrote:http://www.cnn.com/2004/LAW/05/02/cancer.crime.ap/index.html
This is the story in a nutshell:
A 17 year old girl develops a bump on her chest that goes untreated. One night she develops a series of symptoms and her heart stops beating. She's revived but cannot walk or talk. It is determined the bump was actually Hodgkin's disease. The parents are jailed for negligence because they left their child's cancer go untreated. They are given 10 year sentences.
What do you think?
How were the parents to know that the girl had a lump on her chest?
Did the girl, herself, even know she had a lump on her chest?
I don't agree with the position of the Court in this matter.
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