GUILTY AZ - Shanesha Taylor leaves kids in car during interview, Scottsdale, 2014

[JeannaT]

It's kind of a pointless discussion. You can't charge father (or fathers) for leaving kids in the car because him (or them) were not there.
That's based on our laws.

It's not pointless, and I can't believe I'm the only one here saying her predicament is caused by not having a partner who is willing to help.

You CAN charge deadbeat dads with failure to pay support and abandonment, and if that were done frequently men would think twice about impregnanting a woman when he has no means or intention of helping her take care of his baby.

I don't now how we've gotten so far afield from that principal that there are two people here responsible for those children, and she shouldn't be forced to live out of a car while the dads don't participate.

 

[giagreen]

It's not pointless, and I can't believe I'm the only one here saying her predicament is caused by not having a partner who is willing to help.

You CAN charge deadbeat dads with failure to pay support and abandonment, and if that were done frequently men would think twice about impregnanting a woman when he has no means or intention of helping her take care of his baby.

I don't now how we've gotten so far afield from that principal that there are two people here responsible for those children, and she shouldn't be forced to live out of a car while the dads don't participate.

Your not the only one who thinks that. I do to. I think its nuts. If this woman just left her kids and never came around she would be charged with abandonment. As should all father's who abandon their children. I am sick of hearing about all these single mother's with useless fathers.



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[JeannaT]

Your not the only one who thinks that. I do to. I think its nuts. If this woman just left her kids and never came around she would be charged with abandonment. As should all father's who abandon their children. I am sick of hearing about all these single mother's with useless fathers.



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Thank you. ;D

 

[jjenny]

What do you know about the father?

What I know is she is homeless and alone. That kind of tells me what I need to know about the father(s). How can you say he didn't fail, that she did? If he's not doing anything at all to help raise his kids, he failed worse than she did.

Really? What if he is dead (not that I know anything about him/them). What if he doesn't know he is the father?
You are making accusations not knowing the circumstances at all.

 

[JeannaT]

Really? What if he is dead (not that I know anything about him/them). What if he doesn't know he is the father?
You are making accusations not knowing the circumstances at all.

I am making assumptions based on having read everything I can find about this situation, and there is not one mention of "tragically, her husband died last year". There is no mention whatsoever of the father(s) of these babies who are living in a car.

And a man who doesn't realize he's fathered a child is just as guilty, in my opinion, as one who willfully walks away after being told he's fathered one.

My guess - just again an assumption - is that he was told and is living. Otherwise, why not put that very tragic and sympathetic point on the website asking for money for her?

 

[AnaTeresa]

It's not so easy to get services - walk in to some churches/hospitals/police stations and you're not likely to get much help at all. It depends on where you're at. Not being a local to her area, I will defer to others on what services are available. But I know in some areas where I live, you're not likely to get help, as waiting lists are a mile long.

And for those saying she should have been able to find someone to watch the children, well - what if she left them with say a janitor from the homeless shelter. And then something happened to the children. Gosh, that sounds familiar. Guarantee you, no matter who she left the children with, if something had happened to them, she would have been equally vilified.

I don't know this woman or her choices in life. But I do know that she was trying to get a job, rather than sit on benefits. I do know what people are like, and how mothers are damned if they do and damned if they don't. So unless there's more information, I can't judge this woman. I'd rather try to walk a mile in her shoes and open my eyes to the systemic, grinding poverty many Americans face today, and see if there's something I can do to help.

 

[nomoresorrow]

#1 - Thankfully these babies are safe! With that said...

Like others, I'm angry - this shouldn't ever have been considered a viable option by Mom - but it was - I'd like to know more about why. And for those who say it makes no difference if a parent makes this choice because they have a last-minute job interview or simply want to go drinking at a bar... while the outcome could be the same (death), it does matter. Before I clump this mother in with any/all other cases of children purposely being left in vehicles, I want to know information about this Mom & children's history. If there is more to this story (prior incidents of leaving children in vehicle unattended, reports of abuse/neglect...), I'm confident it will come out - especially where the Mom has garnered some public sympathy, including substantial donations for her defense. If there's more to the story, someone's gonna talk!

 

[hambirg]

Count me in the camp that doesn't think it matters that she was in a job interview. What she did could have likely resulted in the death of those babies. It's endangerment.

While I understand that people think it's admirable to be trying to find a job and gain a means of support, would people feel the same if she was trying to earn money in an illegal fashion? I know it's not exactly the same thing. But how would people feel if she was in a hotel room prostituting instead of at a job interview? The results would be the same. . .just trying to earn some money and support herself and kids.

To me the ends don't justify the means. It wouldn't matter if she was disabling a bomb that was about to blow up a day care center for children with cancer run by disabled vets and nuns. You don't leave babies alone, unsupervised, in a hot locked car with the keys in the ignition for over an hour. . .EVER!

 

[AzPistonsGirl]

this is a heated discussion. I like it.

But I won't add much - just to say that living here, you hear these stories EVERY YEAR OVER AND OVER AGAIN. Child drownings and children (and pets) in hot cars. There was a push last year for folks to stop this nonsense and criminalize the "practice". No matter what she was doing, this (leaving babies in the car, one was 2 years old and the other 6 months) was never an option IMO.

 

[Dogface]

It makes me very sad that a mother felt that this was her only option...was it the right choice? Not by any means. But in her mindset she might have been so desperate for a job that it seemed to be the only thing she could do. I would bet that having a job would be life changing for her and her children. I wish all the good-doers who help her after the fact would have been there before hand. If we all had a better sense of community and helped proactively instead of after the fact she probably would not have been in this situation. But too often times people are scared to offer help, or judge someone's poor decisions and make assumptions about the person. Often, those assumptions are right, but not always. Regardless, I think if everyone tried to truly help we would progress a lot as a nation. And I do not just mean monetarily, but by giving time, inviting someone for a home cooked meal, etc.

 

[MissJ]

If you have been in this position you might understand. I took my child with me to job interview. Did I get it ? No but I tried. You don't know what its like til you are there. Police fire departments would have you arrested. You don't have anyone? Its on you, only you.

 

[K_Z]

Several posters have expressed sympathy for the woman due to her homelessness, and poverty, and lack of support from a committed partner/ co-parent/ committed BF/ husband.

I would be interested to know what penalties, if any, they feel the woman should receive?

Do the more sympathetic among us believe the charges should be dropped all together?

Should she get her kids back with no supervision from social services or probation?

What do you all think is the "right" legal course of action?

I personally believe she should receive "some" jail time-- some amount of time from 30 days to less than a year seems appropriate to me, along with at least 5 years of supervision from parole and social services, to ensure the ongoing safety of the kids (assuming she does what she needs to do to get the kids back). She needs mandatory participation in parenting classes, and services to help her find stable housing, childcare, and a job. That's my opinion, but I don't know what kind of penalties she is facing from the felony charges.

 

[JeannaT]

It makes me very sad that a mother felt that this was her only option...was it the right choice? Not by any means. But in her mindset she might have been so desperate for a job that it seemed to be the only thing she could do. I would bet that having a job would be life changing for her and her children. I wish all the good-doers who help her after the fact would have been there before hand. If we all had a better sense of community and helped proactively instead of after the fact she probably would not have been in this situation. But too often times people are scared to offer help, or judge someone's poor decisions and make assumptions about the person. Often, those assumptions are right, but not always. Regardless, I think if everyone tried to truly help we would progress a lot as a nation. And I do not just mean monetarily, but by giving time, inviting someone for a home cooked meal, etc.

That's what friends are for, Dogface. I don't know this woman's specific situation, but with two babies and no friends that she could count on for an hour babysitting, she's too isolated to be able to effectively parent.

If she has friends and family around but somehow felt too proud to ask for help, that's something she needs to work on. No one can parent in isolation, which is what she is trying to do.

 

[giagreen]

Several posters have expressed sympathy for the woman due to her homelessness, and poverty, and lack of support from a committed partner/ co-parent/ committed BF/ husband.

I would be interested to know what penalties, if any, they feel the woman should receive?

Do the more sympathetic among us believe the charges should be dropped all together?

Should she get her kids back with no supervision from social services or probation?

What do you all think is the "right" legal course of action?

I personally believe she should receive "some" jail time-- some amount of time from 30 days to less than a year seems appropriate to me, along with at least 5 years of supervision from parole and social services, to ensure the ongoing safety of the kids (assuming she does what she needs to do to get the kids back). She needs mandatory participation in parenting classes, and services to help her find stable housing, childcare, and a job. That's my opinion, but I don't know what kind of penalties she is facing from the felony charges.

I think five years of supervision is a bit much. I also think jail will do no good in this case.
Keeping the kids from their mother will IMO cause more problems in the long run.

I don't think the charge should be dropped. I do think parenting classes...job skill classes and maybe some other classes would actually be helpful in this situation.

And I also think that the children should be given back to their mother the moment she has a home for them and proof of child care. Yes the house should be checked along with a year long follow up. But I think five years is a bit much for someone who was trying. Maybe not the right way but she was trying.

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[JeannaT]

Several posters have expressed sympathy for the woman due to her homelessness, and poverty, and lack of support from a committed partner/ co-parent/ committed BF/ husband.

I would be interested to know what penalties, if any, they feel the woman should receive?

Do the more sympathetic among us believe the charges should be dropped all together?

Should she get her kids back with no supervision from social services or probation?

What do you all think is the "right" legal course of action?

I personally believe she should receive "some" jail time-- some amount of time from 30 days to less than a year seems appropriate to me, along with at least 5 years of supervision from parole and social services, to ensure the ongoing safety of the kids (assuming she does what she needs to do to get the kids back). She needs mandatory participation in parenting classes, and services to help her find stable housing, childcare, and a job. That's my opinion, but I don't know what kind of penalties she is facing from the felony charges.

I would be inclined to drop the charges, if she is able to complete a couple years of supervision by CPS to ensure she somehow develops a network of support. In my experience, when you have babies and toddlers you have more friends than any other time in your life. You have friends you call every day, and they can count on you if their car breaks down or they need an hour of babysitting, and you can count on them the same way.

She can't do this alone, and somehow she has missed out on providing a safety network for herself and her children.

I'm very leery of criminal charges, because that will ruin her in the job market. Until you've had to apply for low-end jobs with even a misdemeanor record, you don't realize how that shuts almost all entry level doors.

 

[giagreen]

I would be inclined to drop the charges, if she is able to complete a couple years of supervision by CPS to ensure she somehow develops a network of support. In my experience, when you have babies and toddlers you have more friends than any other time in your life. You have friends you call every day, and they can count on you if their car breaks down or they need an hour of babysitting, and you can count on them the same way.

She can't do this alone, and somehow she has missed out on providing a safety network for herself and her children.

I'm very leery of criminal charges, because that will ruin her in the job market. Until you've had to apply for low-end jobs with even a misdemeanor record, you don't realize how that shuts almost all entry level doors.

That is so true about the charges derailing her from finding a job in the future. I've seen that happen all to often.

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[AzPistonsGirl]

I wonder what a prospective employer might say if you showed up at an interview with 2 babies in tow, explaining you had no one to watch them. I imagine some might be sympathetic and allow the kids to be in the same room as the interview. Others may understand and offer to reschedule the interview. Not applying anything to this case, just thinking after re-reading the posts upthread.

 

[K_Z]

I think five years of supervision is a bit much. I also think jail will do no good in this case.
Keeping the kids from their mother will IMO cause more problems in the long run.

I don't think the charge should be dropped. I do think parenting classes...job skill classes and maybe some other classes would actually be helpful in this situation.

And I also think that the children should be given back to their mother the moment she has a home for them and proof of child care. Yes the house should be checked along with a year long follow up. But I think five years is a bit much for someone who was trying. Maybe not the right way but she was trying.

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Thanks, giagreen.

One of my kids is adopted internationally. I am required to have social services follow up and supervision for 5 years, as a result of being an adoptive parent. Neither my husband, nor I have any contacts with the legal system beyond my one traffic ticket, and his one parking ticket.

Why should adoptive parents with no history of neglect, or other legal problems, be required to have more supervision than a homeless, single parent, who has demonstrated severe judgement lapse that could have killed her infant and toddler? Or they could have been abducted.

Why should this woman have less supervision than me? What is the rationale for that?

 

[giagreen]

Thanks, giagreen.

One of my kids is adopted internationally. I am required to have social services follow up and supervision for 5 years, as a result of being an adoptive parent. Neither my husband, nor I have any contacts with the legal system beyond my one traffic ticket, and his one parking ticket.

Why should adoptive parents with no history of neglect, or other legal problems, be required to have more supervision than a homeless, single parent, who has demonstrated severe judgement lapse that could have killed her infant and toddler? Or they could have been abducted.

Why should this woman have less supervision than me? What is the rationale for that?

I totally get where your coming from. It doesn't seem right for her to have less then you considering she has actually screwed up.

But I guess I also don't feel that you should have five years of follow ups. For a year...sure. But then I believe its best to let the family find their own identity as a family with out all the out side sources involved.

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[MissJ]

I was a teenage mother,living two hundred miles from home. I had no friends,no family.
I wanted to work but no one to mind my child. So I took him with me. After about fifty interviews someone took pity on me. Helped me arrange day care. Gave me a job. It saved my life. But it isn't common. Give this woman some sympathy. She is trying