la_cavalière;10703504 said:
Hmmm... that's a tough one for me. If it was truly an accident, I would say no. I don't think prosecuting parents for tragic accidents is effective, and besides, their grief is enough of a punishment. Instead, we need to come up with solutions to prevent hot car deaths.
I understand your viewpoint and, not long ago, I probably would have agreed. This case has really caused me to reevaluate my position on this.
Everyone knows that you shouldn't leave your child in a hot car. When we hear about another case in the news, we feel sad. Then it's on to the next bit of news.
Until Cooper's death, I never really thought about how painful and agonizing a death this is. I don't think that most of those parents who tragically forgot their children in the car had ever been told what physically happens to a child who dies due to heatstroke.
I think there needs to be greater public awareness of the agony that these helpless babies endure when left in a hot car. There need to be countless PSAs on our TV and radio stations, especially in the summer. Pediatricians need to educate parents and should be required to discuss it with parents and hand out informative and graphic pamphlets. It should be burned into your brain that leaving your child in a hot car equals slow, painful, agonizing torture that ends in death.
And, finally, there need to be consequences. Sometimes an attentive, loving parent gets distracted and their child dies. Sometimes wonderful people drink too much just once and commit vehicular homicide. Both are tragic accidents, but someone's dead and there should be consequences.
I'm not saying lock them up and throw away the key in every instance. I'm just saying that more public awareness along the lines of what has been accomplished via MADD and aggressive prosecution of DUIs, could greatly reduce fatalities. As a society, we are more aware and vigilant concerning the risks involved with drinking and driving. I believe we owe it to our children to be no less vigilant every time we strap a child into a car seat.