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

[K_Z]

Facing a max of 2 years for each charge? Please. That's nothing.

People make choices. & From those choices, accept the consequences that come from making bad decisions.

She does not deserve leniency.

Good god this has made me angry as h*ll.

Snipped and BBM for focus.

Actually, from what articles have said (see below), she faces a range of punishment from a maximum of 8 years in prison, to a minimum of 2 years probation for each of the class 1 felonies (4 years probation, I think).

http://www.salon.com/2014/04/17/ari...ecute_shanesha_taylor_for_felony_child_abuse/

What I think is interesting, is that if her "benefactor" Amanda Bishop had not drawn such attention to Taylor's case, and started the online donation thing, she likely would receive LESS punishment than she will now. There is a good chance the charges might have been busted down to misdemeanors with probation, when she was just "another" stupid parent who left their young kids in a car. Now, I kind of doubt that the prosecutor will be very willing to plea bargain lesser charges, from what he's said.

And it also occurs to me what Shanesha Taylor chose NOT to say, in her first public remarks, delivered thru the voice of her attorney:

- She didn't say she was sorry for what she did.
- She didn't express gratitude or relief that her kids are ok.
- She didn't thank the people and her family members caring for all 3 of her kids.
- She didn't take responsibility for her actions in any way.
- She didn't correct, or clarify the widespread impression that she is homeless, single, and unemployed.

But she DID say:

- Thanks for all the support and well wishes, and thanks for the money
- "I made a mistake". (Uh, no, nope-- what you did was "on purpose", and with forethought.)
- Please drop the charges.

I'm sure her attorney advised her on what to say in her remarks he delivered. But IMO, what she DIDN'T say is more of a reflection of her character, integrity, and intent, far more than what she DID say. If I was the prosecutor, I'd make a note of that. Especially in a case that has become as notorious as hers.

 

[Tinsamd]

Thanks! Good lord this one makes me so angry. Had me wondering where I saw the 2 year max, I read 2 year minimum as max.

http://www.azcentral.com/story/news...ed-kids-car-scottsdale-job-interview/7747739/

The mother has pleaded not guilty. If convicted, Taylor faces a minimum of two years of probation for each count. She has not said where she is staying or clarified what her housing situation was prior to her arrest.

& I totally agree with you. The tears.. Has me wondering if they are tears of OH NO! I GOT CAUGHT!

The more I read on her, the more I question her.

 

[sindydee]

Every single person who has donated money or their support is basically saying, Yes its OK to leave your child in an unattended car, WITH the keys in the ignition, for over an HOUR without checking on them. This is OK WHY? because she didn't mean to? She made a mistake? Yes she DID mean to. She had a choice. She was capable of making the decision and she chose wrongly. REGARDLESS of why she left them. It doesnt matter. Thankfully no predator took the car, no one hurt them and they didn't die in heat. Would everybody be rallying round, sticking up for her if any of these things had happened? No and they shouldn't now. I wouldn't even leave my DOG in the car for an hour with the keys in the ignition. Nevermind children. Makes me wonder how many of these people that have donated their hard earned money to this woman actually bothered to research any facts. hmmmmm.

 

[K_Z]

Absolutely, positively unbelievable. Sickening. IMO, disgusting that this is still going on.

Donations go straight into a PayPay account to ST, according to this story. Video and text at link below.

After her "story" appeared on the Today Show yesterday (Friday, April 18), donations have jumped to:

$112,289

http://www.azcentral.com/story/news...aylor-fund-raiser-outperforms-others/7885697/

Actually, it's even more than that article says. I just checked the site and the newest total is:

$112,787

I just really, fervently hope that this is an anomaly. I really, really cannot believe that anyone would donate a single thin dime in a situation like this. There are so many much more worthy causes, IMO. It just really feels like she is being rewarded for neglecting her kids. And I also notice that the issue of her youngest testing positive for illegal drugs just a few months ago, with subsequent CPS involvement, is being conveniently overlooked in most every article and story about this.

 

[kimi_SFC]

Absolutely, positively unbelievable. Sickening. IMO, disgusting that this is still going on.

Donations go straight into a PayPay account to ST, according to this story. Video and text at link below.

After her "story" appeared on the Today Show yesterday (Friday, April 18), donations have jumped to:

$112,289

http://www.azcentral.com/story/news...aylor-fund-raiser-outperforms-others/7885697/

Un-flipping-believable! :censored: :stormingmad:

I don't have it in me to thank the post because of the content, but :tyou: K_Z for informing us of this madness!

Hope this makes sense. My head feels like it's about to explode. Whoever is running this twisted PR campaign is doing a bang up job of deflecting the focus away from what really matters: the children!

Whiskey. Tango. Foxtrot.

:tantrum:


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

[Tinsamd]

Actually, it's even more than that article says. I just checked the site and the newest total is:

$112,787

I just really, fervently hope that this is an anomaly. I really, really cannot believe that anyone would donate a single thin dime in a situation like this. There are so many much more worthy causes, IMO. It just really feels like she is being rewarded for neglecting her kids. And I also notice that the issue of her youngest testing positive for illegal drugs just a few months ago, with subsequent CPS involvement, is being conveniently overlooked in most every article and story about this.

Unbelievable.

Truly.

I am honestly at a complete loss for words.

If this is becoming the world in which we live, here in America, where no logic exists any longer, I may consider hopping a plane to Canada.

 

[Tinsamd]

And from the video at the above mentioned link. Since all of this $$$ is sent directly to her via a Paypal account as soon as it's donated, surely she is busy looking for work.

So much for finding that job...

 

[AnaTeresa]

Every single person who has donated money or their support is basically saying, Yes its OK to leave your child in an unattended car, WITH the keys in the ignition, for over an HOUR without checking on them. This is OK WHY? because she didn't mean to? She made a mistake? Yes she DID mean to. She had a choice. She was capable of making the decision and she chose wrongly. REGARDLESS of why she left them. It doesnt matter. Thankfully no predator took the car, no one hurt them and they didn't die in heat. Would everybody be rallying round, sticking up for her if any of these things had happened? No and they shouldn't now. I wouldn't even leave my DOG in the car for an hour with the keys in the ignition. Nevermind children. Makes me wonder how many of these people that have donated their hard earned money to this woman actually bothered to research any facts. hmmmmm.

I have not donated money, but I don't think you can say this. Quite a few people on this thread, including myself, have talked about the difficulties of homelessness, being a single parent, and systemic poverty. It's not approbation for her actions; it's an acknowledgement of the problems within society and our lack of safety nets.

 

[K_Z]

I have not donated money, but I don't think you can say this. Quite a few people on this thread, including myself, have talked about the difficulties of homelessness, being a single parent, and systemic poverty. It's not approbation for her actions; it's an acknowledgement of the problems within society and our lack of safety nets.

Donating money is a different kind of affirmative endorsement than giving a thumbs-up to a post, or signing one of the (IMO, largely useless) online petitions protesting, or supporting, some kind of social cause. I can accept that perhaps those adding their monikers to the online petition delivered to the prosecutor might just be protesting "something", but I'm not exactly sure any of them understand what exactly the cause is that they are protesting. Endorsing these kind of petitions is is sometimes called "slacktivism".

Slacktivism - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

But donating money is a highly affirmative personal action, and does definitely signal endorsement and support of "something" the person is donating to. Donating money isn't just pity, IMO. People donate money to charities they support, to politicians they support, to people with serious illnesses, etc.

I think what outrages many of us is not only is ST being affirmed and rewarded for her criminally negligent behavior, but that ST has become a representative for social causes that she doesn't really represent! She is almost certainly not single (legally), not homeless, not unemployed, and "poor" hasn't really been defined, but she was driving a late model Dodge Durango, and is former military.

Except for the donations, this case would not even be newsworthy, IMO. It is precisely the donations that make this case vastly different than simply acknowledging problems within society, IMO. It's not donating to a "worthy cause", but endorsement of criminal actions, tinged with some very warped kind of pity that I can't begin to understand, that completely ignores the safety and needs of the very young kids who were victims.

If one were to say that all, or most, single, poor, under-employed women were incapable of making competent decisions about their very small children, simply because they are single, poor, or underemployed-- there would be righteous indignation all around, and justifiably so. Note that her 6 month old was NOT removed from her custody, despite the evidence that she was using illegal drugs right up to his birth. Should CPS have removed him, and the other kids from her custody, at that point? CPS apparently trusted her to make good and safe parenting decisions, right?

She doesn't get a "pass" on these charges, IMO, because of the "excuse" of her social circumstances, which weren't all that devastating. It's not like she was in fear of her life from an abuser, and was desperate, like Marissa Alexander.

There is not a single bit of evidence that she was unable to make good, safe, or competent decisions because she was "single", "poor", "homeless", or "under-employed".

I do agree that anyone who contributes money to her "cause", is making a statement that what she did is okay, excusable, and somehow commendable, simply because she was looking for a job. Would these same people donate if her kids had died? Would these same people donate if she was of a different race, or middle class, and without a babysitter that morning? Would they donate if she was shopping, or gambling at a casino? Would they donate if she had been at church on her knees praying, with her kids in a hot car alone?

 

[K_Z]

And as of today, the donations total is:

$113, 382

(I won't link the site, but any interested can search with her name and easily find it.)

 

[LinasK]

She doesn't get a "pass" on these charges, IMO, because of the "excuse" of her social circumstances, which weren't all that devastating. It's not like she was in fear of her life from an abuser, and was desperate, like Marissa Alexander.

There is not a single bit of evidence that she was unable to make good, safe, or competent decisions because she was "single", "poor", "homeless", or "under-employed".

I do agree that anyone who contributes money to her "cause", is making a statement that what she did is okay, excusable, and somehow commendable, simply because she was looking for a job. Would these same people donate if her kids had died? Would these same people donate if she was of a different race, or middle class, and without a babysitter that morning? Would they donate if she was shopping, or gambling at a casino? Would they donate if she had been at church on her knees praying, with her kids in a hot car alone?

:clap::clap::clap::goodpost:Well- said!

 

[K_Z]

And from the video at the above mentioned link. Since all of this $$$ is sent directly to her via a Paypal account as soon as it's donated, surely she is busy looking for work.

So much for finding that job...

And I also can't help but notice that neither she, nor her attorney, have ASKED the public to STOP donating to the fund. Or asked that it be shut down to donations. Remember, it has been more than a month since she was arrested.

I think they better try hard to get the prosecutor to agree to a plea deal, because, IMO, if she takes her chances on a jury, she will get jail time for sure. Especially when the prosecutor points out that she is apparently just fine with collecting donations more than a month later, and he points out all of the inconsistencies in her story. And then, there is the CPS case on her youngest, too. And the fact that she was solidly middle class, and a military veteran. Etc. Etc.

I can't see a jury being very sympathetic to the whole thing, $113,000 dollars later. But that's just me. I think she should plead guilty, accept her punishment, and move on.

Things that make you go "hmmmm..........."

 

[giagreen]

I just think its kinda funny. $113,000 could be used to help a whole lot of single moms who need child care.

It would make her look a whole lot better if she took what she needed for an apartment and got a job and then gave the rest of that money to some type of child care for women who need the help just like she said she did.

I also think its funny. No one wanted to give money to help a ton of woman with child care but now are giving crazy amounts to one woman. That's the part I don't like. I'd be happy to pay for her child care and many others if I had it but not just give money to one woman who now has plenty.

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[K_Z]

LA Times article from yesterday discussing ST's neighbor's reactions. (I think that "neighbors" further clarifies that she was not "homeless.")

Mothers in Taylor's neighborhood reflect the divided opinion over her actions. Another single mom said Monday that she would have helped had she known Taylor's situation. A mother of three children said leaving a 6-month-old infant was simply unacceptable.

Her neighbor Stephanie Cordoba said she could empathize with the mother.

Cordoba, who cradled her 2-week-old son Isaac in her arms, lives with her husband at her mother-in-law's house. But she was once a single mother and said she knew how difficult it could be to qualify for child care if you were unemployed and looking for a job.

Cordoba, who also has two young daughters, said she and Taylor had walked to the bus stop together in the past but wished she had known her better.

A few houses down, Daniella Flores ushered her three children into her SUV. "I really do have mixed feelings," she said. "A 6-month-old? I don't know — that's bad. A teenager would be OK, but not a 6-month-old. How do you know that's not the first time she's done that? Why didn't she leave them with her family?"

A woman who answered the door at Taylor's last known address declined to talk.

http://www.latimes.com/nation/la-na-ff-poor-single-mom-20140422,0,35628.story#ixzz2zdmfpJLS

Racism Accusations in Shanesha Taylor Case Based on Inaccurate Information

Blogs and social-media posts have gone viral comparing the fate of Taylor, who is black, to another local woman convicted of child abuse, who's white. The problem is, the comparison is completely inaccurate.

http://blogs.phoenixnewtimes.com/va...ylor_case_based_on_inaccurate_information.php

I just wonder if Amanda Bishop will start an online donation page for Catalina Clouser, the photo of the girl with pink hair, who also "made a mistake"? Maybe she could use $113,000?

 

[LinasK]

Child abuse is child abuse, no matter what color the mother is! This is one time I disagree with the Liberal Newsfeed I saw that on on Facebook. I ignored it knowing they didn't have all the facts.

 

[mikeysmommom]

I wonder how many others will leave their children in bad situations because it might just get you 112,000.00 ! How irresponsible to begin a fund raiser based on emotions and not facts. This woman should not be rewarded for her horrendous parenting skills.A few months back her baby was born with drugs in the system, I hope none of the donations go towards buying drugs. I am starting to wonder if the person starting the fund raiser is either a relative or friend of this woman. There really should be some way to make sure the people set up for donations on those sites really are in the situation that is claimed.Otherwise isn't that fraud ?

 

[K_Z]

Shanesha Taylor was in court 5-22-14. Her trial is set for Sept 4, 2014.

Shanesha Taylor, 35, whose tearful jail mugshot attracted nationwide attention to her case and about $115,000 in Internet donations, will be allowed supervised visits with her two sons as she awaits trial on two felony child abuse charges, attorney Benjamin Taylor said.

http://t.news.msn.com/crime-justice...eft-children-in-hot-car-allowed-to-visit-them

Taylor, 35, has been barred from seeing them since her March 20 arrest in Scottsdale.

They are now with family, and under the supervision of the Division of Child and Family Services.

He said that his client is thankful for all the support she has received and that the money will go toward building the future of her children. Taylor has already used a portion of the funds to find a safe place to live, he said.

http://www.azcentral.com/story/news...-taylor-granted-visitation-sons-abrk/2362350/

Final total on the Youcaring donation website (donations closed 12 days ago):

$114,775

 

[tlcya]

So the money will only benefit the children if they are in her care?

It "will" help build their future. With mom. Magnanimous.

I hope this mom learns from this. Because their future no matter what funds are helping contribute to it, if spent with their mom, will need good parental decision making, not just a home and some money. A home and some money are nothing if adults in control of those items aren't making adult decision. MOO

 

[K_Z]

The New York Times did a big story, and the first extended interview with Shanesha Taylor. Lots of interesting details in there, about her childhood, about the decline in her living situation over the years after her stint in the Air Force, and in the months leading up to her arrest. There is discussion about the report that the baby tested positive for drugs, too. And the detail we didn't know is that the 9 year old was also removed from her custody-- not just the infant and toddler. She has some supervised visitation now, and phone contact.

Dated June 21, 2014

http://www.nytimes.com/2014/06/22/business/a-job-seekers-desperate-choice.html?hp&_r=1

Washington Post has this re-cap article:

http://www.washingtonpost.com/news/...-children-in-car-during-job-interview-speaks/

 

[NZkirsty]

This is actually quite shocking. Ok, she's a single, homeless mother at a job interview. I applaud her for this. BUT she left her 2 kids in the car - she couldn't find anyone to look after them for an hour? looking at her FB page, she has plenty of friends, she couldn't ask them to help? and what about her mum???

To raise so much money for her?! - so if you leave your kids in the car people will give you money. What makes you think other people wont try this?

I just don't get it.