I found the article incredibly self serving for the mother. Shame all the way around, including the journalist who didn't answer any real questions.
I'm not even going to dignify responding to the salvation army/Billy part of the equation (which has nothing to do with her death) except to say, is the implication that when an able bodied woman staying in a salvation army who had a one night stand tells a fella him she's pregnant, is he supposed to marry her immediately, on her word it's his, or better yet, start sending her buckets of money because the child must be his? If I were him, if I didn't hear back from her 3-6-9 months later, I'd assume I didn't have a child either.
If she was homeless and so poor to not be able to support Cherish, why did she have two more children with AP? Is BJ now responsible for RP's continued poverty with a boyfriend and two addition children not his own?
Mom is aware of a budget and of necessities. Is she only spending BJ's checks on Cherish? Now the story is Cherish got a sparkly barrette and her sister got a dress? I thought it was a new dress for Cherish to fly to see her father in? Why buy a barrette if money is so tight? If she's at DG and can't swing the cost of a dress, why did she think they could afford to go shopping at all? Why ask a neighbor to drive you and three children to DG to 'buy clothes for the kids' when you know you only have enough money to cover a barrette, but not a dress.
If she hasn't enough money to take care of three kids and keep the electricity paid for, why do they have 6 animals living in the house? What are the animals eating?
She has time to watch three movies a day. When does she work? If she doesn't work, why not? Does AP work?
Rayne looks at Cherish's homework--so much she won't be able to teach her. It is summer. Cherish was about to leave for a trip to see her father. Is Cherish in summer school and was going to be skipping it for this trip? Was Cherish homeschooled? Or was this just thrown in to make Rayne look like a hands on, attentive mother?
The judge? If the judge truly sent her that note, the judge is in CYA mode and/or is trying to allay her OWN guilt. I know you gave everything you had and could to Cherish, McCallum wrote, that you were an excellent mother to her and how much she loved you and her sisters. An excellent mother that put three children in a van with strangers and sent her girl to a fitting room twice with that stranger? And hey! Can you grab me a cheeseburger on your way outta my eyesight with my girl?
Cherish loves to play with her dyed hair--because being a good mom, she only did it to look like Ariel from Little Mermaid! That was free hair dye, right? Cause you can't afford clothes for your kids...
The corker? semi paraphrased: Mom wants to change laws, increase monitoring of sex offenders, make a new law that requires offenders wear ankle bracelets that stop them from leaving their front yards. Anything to stop this from happening again.
This didn't have to HAPPEN to Cherish. You facilitated it happening. There are laws on the books that YOU broke as well, look under child endangerment and neglect. :stormingmad: