I guess it is some consolation that Sharyn Ward, formerly from Hawk's Nest in New South Wales, Australia, who left her seven year old autistic daughter to starve to death over a long period of time while imprisoned in her filthy bedroom, has been sentenced to life imprisonment without parole. I guess having an autistic child was not accepted as a valid excuse for child murder in this case, which possibly shows that attitudes are improving. But I can't understand why the "father" Blakeley Ward, only got 12 years for manslaughter. He had no idea what was going on? He was unable to do anything to prevent what happened? Prison sentences are a joke in Australia anyway. Life never means life, and crims get let out early all the time. Will these murderers be allowed to start new families when they have done their time? Nothing stopping them.
Readers might be a bit confused about the identity of the child who was murdered, because the child has been reported as having two different names in Australian press coverage. Recent media coverage names her only by her middle name "Ebony" and the older media coverage from the time that the murder was first discovered gave her normal name "Shellay Ward". This is because of some bullshit law that we have here that is supposed to protect the identity of children who are victims of crimes. I believe this law protects the identity of family members who murder or molest their own young kin, as the names of all family members are also suppressed from media coverage. This law is a very convenient thing for adults who do the wrong thing by children, but it isn't doing a damn thing to help young Shellay Ebony Ward, because she is long-dead and beyond all help now. She was apparently under the dilligent supervision of the New South Wales Department of "Community Service".
Links to press stories:
http://www.news.com.au/couriermail/story/0,23739,26155231-953,00.html
http://www.theaustralian.news.com.au/story/0,25197,22716498-2702,00.html
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2 comments:
I suppose thats what it is all about rights, everyone has rights, except if your a child in danger the abuse goes on because abusers have rights, well Im supposed to have rights to but in reality unless you are rich, famous, forget it your words go on deaf ears and still everyday I cry for Ebony everyday I fight for Ebony but is it going to change will people be outraged enough to say nomore? No the story goes on as in Ebony's death she is still neglected in so many ways that I see she still gets talked about but nothing done, noone hears the haunted spirit of this sweet soul because they don't want to, make the government pay for what they have done destroy the house she lived in build a park in memory make them pay make them accountable because the 1 billion funded bullshit that has gone on wont change a thing. For You Shellay Ebony Ward 03/11/2007
And it's not as though this type of terrible crime is unique in Australia, a wealthy civilized country. There was a similar case in WA in which foster carers starved a boy and kept him imprisoned in a cot in the garage. I believe he didn't die, but his development must have been very seriously compromised.
They say we don't have enough social workers working in child welfare. Apparently most of their cases are the result of parents who do booze or drugs. We need to support these people to get free of their habits, but we must stop supporting them as parents and as consumers if they don't get clean quickly. Otherwise it is like feeding vermin - it is only perpetuating more problems.
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