GUILTY CA - Tammi Underwood for child endangerment, Atascadero, 2009

[Salem]

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/30002936

Atascadero is in CA. Look what the LE officer actually says about this grandma - she is "wicked", that's the only word I can find to describe her.

Poor baby, I hope she is safe now and in good hands.

Salem

 

[Kymistry35]

I would say that he picked the right word. I wonder how old the mother is since the grandma is still young and has small children of her own. I hope all of these kids are put with a loving family and given a shot at a normal life.

 

[PattyCake]

what ever happened to an eye for an eye? Lock the evil witch in a closet for days with 1 jug of water and wish her good luck. Do that about 100 times over and maybe that's a start of her punishment.

Poor babe.

 

[Mr. E]

She's 42 with a 9-year-old grandchild?? The drawings on the walls and floor break my heart. I can just picture that child in there, trying to stay sane by drawing.

 

[LaLaw2000]

I can think of a lot of descriptive words for this so called grandma. Wicked would be the least of them!

I am so glad this child was taken out of that h*ll hole!

 

[southcitymom]

I'm glad we don't treat the grandmother like she treated the little girl. I don't WANT to act like the grandmother. Her behavior is depraved and I don't strive to imitate it.

My prayers for this very messed up family.

 

[Salem]

I agree southcitymom - I would never want to act this way either. BUT - sometimes it does make me feel good to rant and when I do, I can say things like this while stomping my feet

I do seriously and honestly hope this woman spends a long time behind bars. And I hope the little girl recovers. I think she will probably be claustrophobic (sp?) for the rest of her life, no matter how much therapy she gets. And she will probably never really trust anyone again. So sad for this child.

Salem

 

[PattyCake]

I'm glad we don't treat the grandmother like she treated the little girl. I don't WANT to act like the grandmother. Her behavior is depraved and I don't strive to imitate it.

My prayers for this very messed up family.

My comment earlier wasn't about imitating her Southcity... it was about deserved punishment, appropriate punishment. An eye for an eye. It has nothing to do with 'lowering' myself to her level at all.

I believe that if punishment becomes far more severe in this world, in North America, some of this stuff will stop.

Why be humane to an inhumane action? Especially when it comes to children, it should be the most vile horrible punishment imaginable. Children are the most innocent of all and we need to protect them by having very VERY scary punishment to the criminal. Some people would think twice if they were deathly afraid of the punishment.

Being lax and not wanting very strong punishment is what's wrong with this and why so many keep getting away or getting off easy with crimes against children.

 

[southcitymom]

I agree southcitymom - I would never want to act this way either. BUT - sometimes it does make me feel good to rant and when I do, I can say things like this while stomping my feet :)

I do seriously and honestly hope this woman spends a long time behind bars. And I hope the little girl recovers. I think she will probably be claustrophobic (sp?) for the rest of her life, no matter how much therapy she gets. And she will probably never really trust anyone again. So sad for this child.

Salem

I hear you, Salem - I do understand that a LOT of that type of venting that goes on here is just that - venting! I do get that, though it's not where I go when I read these things!:blowkiss:

 

[southcitymom]

My comment earlier wasn't about imitating her Southcity... it was about deserved punishment, appropriate punishment. An eye for an eye. It has nothing to do with 'lowering' myself to her level at all.

I believe that if punishment becomes far more severe in this world, in North America, some of this stuff will stop.

Why be humane to an inhumane action? Especially when it comes to children, it should be the most vile horrible punishment imaginable. Children are the most innocent of all and we need to protect them by having very VERY scary punishment to the criminal. Some people would think twice if they were deathly afraid of the punishment.

Being lax and not wanting very strong punishment is what's wrong with this and why so many keep getting away or getting off easy with crimes against children.

I understand your position, PC. There are plenty of countries around that have eye-for-an-eye justice, but I'd never be interested in living there. I think that philosophy leaves the whole world blind.

From my perspective, it is ALWAYS wrong to torture and brutalize a sentient being. It's particularly offensive when such behavior is done to those least able to protect themselves (like children, the elderly, animals), but it is always offensive. But I can't think of one single even halfway decent reason (because there's not one) to torture and harm another human being, regardless of what they have done. And I'm glad America feels the same way.

I'm all about strengthening our laws so that people who commit brutal crimes don't mix with polite society anymore, but I can't get behind bloodthirsty laws. The reason to be humane to someone who does something inhumane is simple - because we are not inhumane, we are not savages.

As for justice - we do the best we can with that here, but we are ill-equipped to carry it out. If we locked this grandmother in a closet with no food until she died that would not bring genuine justice to her granddaughter, who will live with the effects of this abuse for life and who will not in any way be made whole mentally, spiritually and emotionally by her grandmother's slow, tortured death. I think the best we can do is to make sure the grandmother doesn't have a chance to do it again to someone else.

 

[Lovejac]

what ever happened to an eye for an eye? Lock the evil witch in a closet for days with 1 jug of water and wish her good luck. Do that about 100 times over and maybe that's a start of her punishment.

Poor babe.

why give her water?

If this woman did this to her granddaughter, I wonder how she treated her own children

When I read about the drawings on the inside wall of the closet , how sad! That poor child was trying to do something normal to pass the time in her prison.

 

[yanknrebel]

Geez. I am 42, have 5 kids, 4 which are under age 8 and a 3 year old grandson. I was 17 when I got pregnant with my oldest so that grandmother had to be even younger. WHere is the child's mother?

 

[Salem]

Geez. I am 42, have 5 kids, 4 which are under age 8 and a 3 year old grandson. I was 17 when I got pregnant with my oldest so that grandmother had to be even younger. WHere is the child's mother?

I'm speculating here - but I think mom is either in jail or strung out on meth. Very sad all the way around.

Salem

 

[Lovejac]

the little girl's mom is dead. Thank God the school notified Social Services.

http://cbs2.com/local/Tami.Underwood.Closet.2.974204.html

County social services spokeswoman Tracy Buckingham says the
agency was notified March 17 that the girl was repeatedly absent
from school.

The girl, whose mother died about four years ago, and two Underwood children, ages 13 and 5, are in protective custody.

 

[Lovejac]

This article has a picture of this wicked woman.

http://www.sanluisobispo.com/183/story/671046.html

“We all just learned of this,” Buckingham said. “The only referral we received was of general neglect very recently, and she would not answer her door.”

Underwood may have been new to the county, Buckingham said.

Local court records show the grandmother was convicted in 1996 of violating a court order and served nine days in jail. She had been arrested in that case on suspicion of assault with a deadly weapon and stealing a vehicle, but those charges were dismissed.

 

[capoly]

Reading about parental abuse is tough but the grandmother abuse stories really unnerve me. It seems to me unlikely that the abusive behavior began with a grandchild. And to wield abusive authority over two generations....just too despicably wicked.

 

[wildTrose]

Home of Atascadero woman accused of child abuse goes up in flames
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/30027540/

 

[Disguiseduser0308]

:waitasec: The home is now gone? Vigilantes perhaps? I hope investigators got all they needed beforehand.

 

[Lovejac]

Home of Atascadero woman accused of child abuse goes up in flames
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/30027540/

WOW! Very interesting!

Two thoughts, 1. if it was someone trying to help cover up her crime, shame on them! I hope LE got everything they needed from the crime scene.

2. if it was some sort of vigilante justice, shame on them! That house contained clothes, toys, etc. that belonged to the 3 children that are affected by this horrible crime. Items that were probably important and familiar to them.

 

[southcitymom]

Reading about parental abuse is tough but the grandmother abuse stories really unnerve me. It seems to me unlikely that the abusive behavior began with a grandchild. And to wield abusive authority over two generations....just too despicably wicked.

Great point. Additionally, I would bet $ that the chain of abuse goes back before the grandmother. Very sad.