Childhood sexual abuse has officially achieved the status of “Get Out Of Jail Free” card.
Star Phoenix;
A 28-year-old woman won’t spend a day in jail for killing her baby by pulling him out of the toilet bowl in which he was born, snuffing out his first breaths with a plastic bag and then discarding his tiny body in a dumpster on a Manitoba reserve.
Selena Stevenson pleaded guilty Monday to the rare charge of infanticide and was given an 18-month conditional sentence by a sympathetic judge who called the case “heartwrenching.”
“A period of incarceration would serve no purpose whatsoever,” said Queen’s Bench Justice Deborah McCawley. She called the facts of the case “monstrous” but said she couldn’t overlook Stevenson’s horrific background.
“This was clearly an act of desperation done out of fear,” she said. Stevenson will be allowed to remain free in the community to care for her other two children, aged eight and two. The conditions of her sentence include abstaining from alcohol and continuing to seek counselling. No curfew was imposed.
The Crown agreed to reduce the charge against her from murder to infanticide, which carries a five-year maximum and can only be used in cases of mothers who kill their newborns while in a “disturbed” state of mind in the immediate aftermath of giving birth.
Stevenson was a battered woman who got pregnant in the spring of 2002 by a man who raped her when she passed out drunk at a house party, court was told Monday.
She feared reprisal from her common-law husband and was able to conceal the pregnancy from him and other family and community members.
Her lawyer, Greg Brodsky, is being interviewed on the Mike McIntyre show at the moment, carefully laying out the details of the case and explaining why, for all intents and purposes, she had no choice – because all the other options available to her carried with them “consequences”.
Looks like his assessment is bang on.
‘kay if you say so.
Just explain to me again why Robert Latimer is in jail.
As horroble as her killing her child was, than just dumping a human being like some odious piece of garbage.
What is more terrible is how many options she had & the programs to support her. The many hours no doubt of sex education she recieved in school. The rape assult centers, abortion clinics, leftist weasel orginizations just waiting to rid her of this (by there lights) infection. Liberals tend to think of kids as a disease that only abortion can cure.The so called Patriarchy’s way to hold Women in domestic slavery. Just proves that all these socialy concious government programs have achived absolutly nothing.
Now the lives of children have become even cheaper undr this injustice system , run by fruitcakes & liberal socialist, senile Judges who don’t know right from wrong anymore.If they ever did.
By the way since when is fear a viable defense for murder except in self defense?
I am scared I won’t have enough money this weak. Does this mean i get to rob a bank? Perhaps I should cap the dude at work who bullies me. He made me scared.
Tired of the same old excuses for evil by these criminal loving. Death is the answer to all our problems socialists. Euthanasia, mercy killing for the old,& abortion .Like those wacky nurses who think giving shoots & injecting folks with death out of there liberal pity. They so love the grim reaper. Except of course for the serial killers & murders. Then they feel pity for, & cry endlessly for mercy. It never occurs to these idiots what the famlies & friends of these killers , victims go threw there whole life.Nor is there ever going to be an apology for those whose lives where taken purposly & maliciously by these killers. They get no second chance.
I get in a disturbed mind all the time over what the MSM spews. Would the judge look kindly on me for blowing up press rooms?
She may or may not have been raped. Sounds like lawyer speak to me. Even if she was she could have given the kid away or even aborted it.
I guess the views of Andrea Dorkin, that any child should be allowed to be killed by its Mother until 5 . Has become a mainstream liberal right.
Its hard to post this I am so angry.Nothing bothers me more than the helpless being killed, abused, maimed or thrown away. It shows the callus disreguard for life & anyone not deeemed acceptable by the trashy liberal ideology. Giving Clifford Olsen & other mass murders the vote told us all we need to kow about where liberal sympathies lie.
Double standard at work again. News stories usually make mothers that kill offspring and spouses into victims, and make males in the same situation into ogres. Our society is strange most of the time.
Indian and Northern Affairs…your tax dollars hard at work again.
Just this morning I was watching a blurb on the First Nations Channel/Propaganda Machine, and they were saying that the aboriginal birthrate was going to quickly restore the Americas to the rightful owners. This incident must have been some sort of glitch in the plan,
I was listening to this on CTV:
The video CTV news video itself is here and the relevant part starts at 7:51. Here is the same article in print:
“Alberta judge acquits man in Internet luring case”
Apparently, it’s legal to have explicit sexual conversations with children of any age.
Another reckless, out of control judge. Before you know it, Canada will be Vermont.
Robert Latimer is still in jail because the morons in the Sask Dept. of Justice insisted on charging him with Murder rather than Manslaughter; the latter carrying a flexible sentencing provision from zero time to life.
And why stop at just a conditional sentence for this woman…let’s put her up for mother of the year…
You wonder why Latimer is in jail…I wonder why Morgentaler isn’t. This case answers my question,because in Canada if you can kill the baby one month,or one week before it is born , why not one minute or one hour after it is born?Consequences?…naww…not in Canada.We have a social system in place to help everyone avoid consequences, and then when that system isn’t used, the court makes sure there are no consequences. This is so sad.
“Childhood sexual abuse has officially achieved the status of “Get Out Of Jail Free” card.”
Good — I’ll have to remember that if ever bump into Karla Teale.
“Just explain to me again why Robert Latimer is in jail.”
I don’t suppose that would have anything to do with his being a murderer? (Just sayin’…)
What ever happened to punishment for wrong doing? Or justice for the victims?
Regardless of the circumstances leading up to the crime, she is still guilty and deserves to be punished. What would happen if these standards were applied to all crime? No one would ever have to worry about punishment, its not really their fault they commited the crime, its societies fault.
Apparently a women’s right to choose now applies to all 9 months of labour, and about a half hour after giving birth, what a great stride forward.
pregnancy not labour
Began to read the post and thought Spousal abuse? Bang, there is was further down.
It’s easy to be condem the mother until you think of the possible pressures of poverty and physical abuse.
Where do you suppose all those women beaters live when they should be in jail?
The judge feels guilty because the twenty times he had the chance to jail the assaulting male, the law was not followed.
Now the judge can’t bear to penalize the woman who does something out of desperation.
Not jailing wife beaters saves money.
Not jailing criminals in general saves public monies. Refusing emergency hospital services saves public monies. Closing down schools and laying off teachers saves public monies.
Where do you think our so called Liberal induced national surplus comes from? TG
Sorry, needs decoding… rushed for time. TG
No one seems concerned about the other 2 kids this woman has. Are they safe. Who will be respnsible if something happens to them. I bet that if this mother had been white the outcome would have been different and the kids would have been taken away. Any stats on how many mothers killed their children of any age in 2005 or the past 10 years, as compared to biological fathers. She hid this pregnance for fear of reprisal from her commonlaw husband. How did she figure she could hide a murder from him. Is he still with her. Can judges be fired.
Sorry, needs decoding… rushed for time. TG
Children are NOT property but the fuzzy thinking judges in this country, infused with the Liberano ‘know nothing’, ‘no morals’, ‘no ethics’, ‘no God’, ‘no responsibility” type of Justice has produced the expected results: NO JUSTICE for anyone instead of Justice for all.
The value of a person has been reduced to the usefulness of that person. Following this line; babies are not useful to mothers unless they can ‘sell’ them or use them for collateral. From the story told about this woman I garner that she did not value herself and had no emotional attachment or respect for the man who fathered her child, it follows that she would not care about or value the human being who would bring ‘consequences’ to her life with the guy she is ‘shacked up ‘ with. Compassion for innocent, helpless beings is a LEARNED emotion; it is not instintive so IMHO this woman has never learned this emotion. People who have never had someone love them cannot aquire compassion for the helpless very easily. I note how people treat their old parents, their old friends who have lost their minds or their money, their farming out of their babies to day care, etc. etc.
When I was a young woman I was run over by a hit and run driver . I was a MESS and I soon found out who loved me and who had just ‘valued’ me – because it was hit and run and the criminal was never aprehended there was no compensation for me in the form of big $$ for loss and pain. Love and value are vastly different emotions but as a nation Canada has rolled them into one. God does not do this, and until our nation learns to love with our hearts and not our egos or our pocket books this type of behavior will continue. The court was wrong, wrong, wrong to allow this murder to pass because it will make it easier, in the future, for others to murder the helpless and the innocent people in our country. It will also reinforce the self worthlessness this woman already has – she is worthless hense her offspring is worthless is the mind set that the Liberano/Dipper type people require to set up a Communist ‘state-slave’ state. Did I mention that MOST of the judges in this country were APPOINTED by the Liberano/Dipper governments that the mindless people of this country voted FOR? The primary difference between a population following the rules of God and those following only secular rules could not be more clearly defined than it is by this ruling – a slave is only cared for if a slave is valued, the Lord loves and values ALL His children. Humans should TRY to love and value all people in their Justice systems and use the same rules for all people who approach the bench. Murderers of ANY stipe should be given the same treatment; this woman murdered an innocent person who had never crossed her – she is as guilty as a ‘drive-by’ murderer and should be given the same punishment as the latter. IMO the woman judge is the criminal in this affair, not the woman who murdered her own child because the judge just confirmed the woman’s personal worthlessness by pronouncing the latters child worthless. The judge is writting off two lives.
It’s a good thing she isn’t a law-abiding, tee-totaling, hard-working mother in a stable marriage who keeps the kids clean, well-fed, in school, happy and (horrors!!!!) goes to church on Sunday, reads the Bible to them and occaisionally disciplines them with a small switch the way our grandparents used to — or the kids would be apprehended in a flash! We couldn’t have that kind of lifestyle perpetuated now, could we?
This stinks to high heaven of over sensitive Liberal garbage…….poor poor girl, it’s okay you snuffed out another human life, because you had a rough childhood, come over here and let Aunty Liberal Judge give a big hug…..feel better now….off you go…..be good!!
As she has been found quilty of infanticide (not a stretch by the Crown to ask for since it is for mothers who kill their newborns while in a “disturbed” state of mind in the immediate aftermath of giving birth)…it would help to know the conditions of her sentence.
Steve in BC:
I worked homicicde for a number of years (I was with Calgary RCMP at the time). Had several instances of mothers killing their children. Charging the suspect with Infanticide was always a stretch, and required clear evidence that the mother was in a greatly disturbed state of mind, almost to the point of being distraught to the extent of being mentally and physically incapacitated. In cases with which I was involved, generally murder or manslaughter were the charges chosen.
If I understand this particular case correctly, she was initially charged with murder, recently reduced to infanticide. If she was capable of killing the child, concealing the event and subsequently successfully disposing of the baby’s body, seems to me that she was functioning fairly well at the time; hence the initial murder charge.
I don’t like to second-guess such cases when I have not personal knowledge of all of the circumstances. Having said that, it sounds to me as though the Crown made a deal resembling a give-away.
God help the two remaining children…
One more step down the slippery slope.
Once you get used to the idea of abortion, infanticide is not really much of a leap.
But you’ve gotta love judges that judge motives and not the act itself.
Bottom line: under the right conditions, a newborn child has no more right to life than she did in the hours, days, and months leading up to her birth.
Hyper-cultural sensitivity has killed the rule of law in Canada. Color me red and I’ll walk free right through the sentencing circle to a dead end existence.
Once again the leftist judiciary demonstrate their contempt for the traditional Canadian family and what value they give our children.
Why all this focus on the judge? It was a plea bargain, i.e. the Crown prosecutor’s idea.
A judge you can’t do much about, but a government appointed Crown prosecutor you can. If you are so outraged, start your letter writing campaign to the Attorney General.
Ted
Cerberus
What gets me is the term “infanticide”. Im wondering why we need a different word for the murder of a child? I could see it if the penalty for killing a defenceless child was more severe than for killing an adult.
Bruce…I hear ya. I wondered though if the Crown was initially going with a charge of murder as a first response. Better to be in a position to trade down rather than up.
I’ve worked probations and street work for many years and have little good to say for Crown lawyers and easy expediency. I have seen so much crazy evil just walk away.
Richard Ball…equating infanticide to abortion will get us seriously off topic as abortion always will. But I can’t resist.
Are you saying that an embryo in its earliest stages — when it is just a few cells — is as much a human life as an older being?
Blastocyst Canadians are just like you and me? Just without all that baggage of brain and internal organ or over rated skin or anything like that. They may be microscopic and headed to the furnace if they don’t get used. But outside of that they’re pretty much just like my neighbor’s?*
*pinched from Kos.
Ted, just replace “judiciary” with “justice system” in my comment…to me it’s the same difference just the judiciary is the top of the pyramid…was there a story regarding an outraged judge in this case? Ever hear of the game “follow the leader”? Happens everyday in most organizations…I presume the Manitoba Justice System isn’t immune to being affected by the attitude of it’s judicial leadership.
This sort of thing has been going on for centuries. Roman Catholic nuns would discard their babies out of “fear” after being impregnated by Roman Catholic priests or monks.
There were no consequences.
Ian,
You have an infinite problem. Regardless of the topic, you just have to take a stab at Catholics (or papists as ‘your’ type prefer). I’m only surprised you didn’t say Irish Catholic nuns.
Makes me proud to be canadian. Maybe we could start an infanticide industry and have people fly to canada from all over the world to kill their children legally and maybe have Robert Latimer as the driver of the tour bus.
Dr.Wright – You make a very good point. What about the rights of those new moms who were too busy to get to the abortion clinic on time? Surely their mental and emotional suffering trumps an infant’s life.
Anselm, you have an infinite problem. Your belief about history for one. I’m still up to debating you at any time you like regarding your past assertions.
I do enjoy pointing out truth to folks, you know? Whether it is Roman Catholicism or the myth that blood spots in hen eggs means the egg has been fertilized.
Now, getting back to aborted nuns’ babies – shall we discuss?
Just to put a different spin on things. Does anyone think the reason the judge is so forgiving is because the child is native? One of the things I have noticed about these small L liberal native policies is that as long as the victims are native they seem to be expendable.
I,ll bet if she did this to a animal she would.nt have gotten such a sympathetic treatment she would have gotten prison
Ian, Please tell us what your ‘truth’ is about aborted nuns babies.
Canada has the highest rural crime rate in the world for industrialized nations. We could have a lower statistic if they took the “first nations” out of the numbers. These people have no moral compass whatsoever and the main stream media should stop portraying them as Chief Dan George.
Dr Wayne, let’s see if Anselm knows, first 🙂