GUILTY TX - Alanna Gallagher, 6, Saginaw, 1 July 2013 - #14

[human]

From her pictures, she looks cute.

She may have had some boyfriends that were not nice people. They may have impacted him negatively. Or, he could have been the victim of a neighbor or a coach. Who knows.

 

[Flossie JMO]

I'm 20 min NE of Saginaw & work standard hours (9-5) in downtown Dallas. Even w/ rush hours it's often not more than an hour (very bad day an hour and 1/2). I make dinner, spend time w/ hub & kids, etc..... If not being around is why there was limited awareness as to problems w/ TH, it's not because I'd a work commute, IMO.

I am not defending her, but we don't know. Hypothetically 730 to 630 is a long day. She also may have health issues or other that we have no idea about. JMO and I appreciate your posts and thoughts.

 

[Flossie JMO]

BINGO. :moo:

I have to wonder if she was afraid of him...

That could very well be true. And sad and tragic if true IMO

 

[jjenny]

That is simply not true. No one person has the brainpower to "always know" what any other person is doing or thinking.

For all we know, his mom was aware that he had problems and was doing everything in her power to deal with these problems.

Or she may have simply had her head in the sand, totally ignoring him.

We simply do not know.

I am inclined to go with "head in the sand" theory. Sounds to me like she worked a lot, while he run wild.

 

[AngelWings444]

That is simply not true. No one person has the brainpower to "always know" what any other person is doing or thinking.

For all we know, his mom was aware that he had problems and was doing everything in her power to deal with these problems.

Or she may have simply had her head in the sand, totally ignoring him.

We simply do not know.

RBBM: I agree with the BBM. And, as I stated, it is my opinion that if she was burying her head in the sand regarding what her child was doing in her home, she wasn't doing her job as a parent! I'm sure that I don't know every single little thing my kid is doing, but I sure as hell would know if he was engaging in sex in my home, using drugs etc... TH was not a rocket scientist! He had problems in the neighborhood, he wasn't going to school, he was using drugs. Mom had to know something..period. I am not blaming her. She must have been overwhelmed, but to state that she didn't know anything, can't be true.

JMO

ETA: My entire point is that parents ARE responsible for their children. They need to be involved in their kids lives. You can't give a kid a set of keys to the house, set of keys to a car and go about your business. Your job as a parent is to PARENT! I've seen too many parents who simply do not invest the time needed to raise their children, then they act surprised when things happen.

 

[menmo]

Okay think I'm crazy if you will but I wasn't and still am not a stick your head in the sand kind of woman.
When my son started running wild and with the wrong crowd (my opinion not his) I did what I had to in order to find out what was going on before it got so wrong. I had family and friends tell me if they saw him anywhere, who he was with, what he was doing. I could have told you on any given day if he was driving without wearing his seat belt, speeding, or whatever. I had friends on the police force that would not pester him but look out for him by letting me know things about the people he was running with before he got to far out of hand. I even went so far as to have our own house phone tapped because I wanted to know who was calling him, who he was calling and what they needed to whisper about.
I just think a parent has to do what they have to do, regardless if they are married or single. It's not something you can shirk your duty on and let the rest of the world suffer from it someday. It's a full time job.
I realize not everyone has the friends or family I did as my children were growing up but surely this mom had friends, and others she could vent to or help her figure something out with him?
Some people do have mental problems from a young age and the parent can't see it and I do understand. What I don't understand is letting someone like this be out of control in your own home. I just don't. I don't care how scared of someone I am, how much you love them, sometimes tough love is the best thing.

MOO

 

[blefuscu]

RBBM: I agree with the BBM. And, as I stated, it is my opinion that if she was burying her head in the sand regarding what her child was doing in her home, she wasn't doing her job as a parent! I'm sure that I don't know every single little thing my kid is doing, but I sure as hell would know if he was engaging in sex in my home, using drugs etc... TH was not a rocket scientist! He had problems in the neighborhood, he wasn't going to school, he was using drugs. Mom had to know something..period. I am not blaming her. She must have been overwhelmed, but to state that she didn't know anything, can't be true.

JMO

ETA: My entire point is that parents ARE responsible for their children. They need to be involved in their kids lives. You can't give a kid a set of keys to the house, set of keys to a car and go about your business. Your job as a parent is to PARENT! I've seen too many parents who simply do not invest the time needed to raise their children, then they act surprised when things happen.

Not all parents can cope. She's working long hours, she has a 17 year old tearaway son, she's probably frightened of because of his behavior. She's a single mom, trying her best to provide. She cannot be held responsible for his actions. If he's been hyperactive and had "problems" with him since he was young, I'm betting she asked for help. His step-grandmother said he was on medication for hyperactivity.

What I'm trying to say is don't blame her. Until you've been in her shoes, lived her life and tried to cope with her son, who sounds like a nightmare for even perfect parents (they don't exist by the way) you cannot judge her.

 

[tlcya]

From her pictures, she looks cute.

She may have had some boyfriends that were not nice people. They may have impacted him negatively. Or, he could have been the victim of a neighbor or a coach. Who knows.

true, but as a survivor, that really does not do much to mitigate for me. The analytically side of me is interested in what created him. My need for justice does not allow for me to feel much for his inner child I am afraid, though.

But I do agree with you in that something went way way off track to create that monster. And some of it happened during some very formative times in his life. MOO

 

[human]

true, but as a survivor, that really does not do much to mitigate for me. The analytically side of me is interested in what created him. My need for justice does not allow for me to feel much for his inner child I am afraid, though.

But I do agree with you in that something went way way off track to create that monster. And some of it happened during some very formative times in his life. MOO

I am not interested in mitigation. He is a juvenile and cannot get death.

He needs to be locked up forever as a protection to society.

If you are a drunk and hit a tree and become paralyzed, you don't get a do over.

If you are sick and brutally rape a child, you don't get a do over in my world. It should not be a surprise to him that this is not OK.

And if it is a surprise, then it is even worse.

 

[Mystymiss]

I am not interested in mitigation. He is a juvenile and cannot get death.

He needs to be locked up forever as a protection to society.

If you are a drunk and hit a tree and become paralyzed, you don't get a do over.

If you are sick and brutally rape a child, you don't get a do over in my world. It should not be a surprise to him that this is not OK.

And if it is a surprise, then it is even worse.

I thought they could try him as an adult. well I know in my state (Va) certain situations Juvs can be tried as an adult. JMO

 

[BeginnersLuck]

I thought they could try him as an adult. well I know in my state (Va) certain situations Juvs can be tried as an adult. JMO

He will be tried as an adult, but they can't give him the death penalty.

Roper v. Simmons, 543 U.S. 551 (2005), was a decision in which the Supreme Court of the United States held that it is unconstitutional to impose capital punishment for crimes committed while under the age of 18.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Roper_v._Simmons

 

[jjenny]

I thought they could try him as an adult. well I know in my state (Va) certain situations Juvs can be tried as an adult. JMO

He is an adult under TX law. But he can not get the death penalty because of Supreme Court's ruling. Supreme Court abolished death penalty for those under 18 (federally). Thus TX can not execute him even though he will be tried as an adult.

 

[SCHMAE]

http://www.wfaa.com/news/local/tarr...lanned-for-slain-Saginaw-girl--227280331.html

 

[momtective]

He will be tried as an adult, but they can't give him the death penalty.



http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Roper_v._Simmons

He'll be sentenced to prison in Texas...he'll more than likely get the death penalty, just not by the traditional justice system. :wink:

 

[ArianeEmory]

He'll be sentenced to prison in Texas...he'll more than likely get the death penalty, just not by the traditional justice system. :wink:

Everyone says this kind of thing a lot, but how often does it actually happen? I can never think of an example in a national case like this aside from Dahmer.

 

[eileenhawkeye]

Everyone says this kind of thing a lot, but how often does it actually happen? I can never think of an example in a national case like this aside from Dahmer.

Yeah, I really don't think child murderers are killed in prison very often. For one thing, I would think there would be at least local interest if it were to happen. It would be hard to keep it out of the media, especially in the high-profile cases. Now, it wouldn't surprise me if many child killers/rapists have a hard time in prison, are assaulted or attacked, and it's just not reported on, but I don't think they are being killed as often as people might think.

 

[floridamomma]

Yeah, I really don't think child murderers are killed in prison very often. For one thing, I would think there would be at least local interest if it were to happen. It would be hard to keep it out of the media, especially in the high-profile cases. Now, it wouldn't surprise me if many child killers/rapists have a hard time in prison, are assaulted or attacked, and it's just not reported on, but I don't think they are being killed as often as people might think.

rather unfortunate, imo.

 

[x_files]

rather unfortunate, imo.

Not enough Dexters to clean up the mess unfortunately.

 

[Mitsana]

I tried to see if I could find any stats but the gov't sites are all shut down atm. This article is old (2003) but it talks about this phenomenon after a convicted pedo was killed in jail.

Although there are no stats in the article, it sounds pretty clear that pedos are at risk in jail if their crime is known and they often have protective custody to thank for their survival (in this case, the pedo convict was killed by another inmate in protective custody).

http://abcnews.go.com/US/story?id=90004

 

[Brightbird]

Old article on prison life for paedophiles - http://abcnews.go.com/US/story?id=90004

Former Roman Catholic Priest, John Geoghan, was murdered in his cell in protective custody.

At the end of 2001, about 83,000 state prison inmates, or about 6.8 percent, were male sex offenders who had committed a rape or sexual assault against a minor under age 18, according to Allen Beck, chief of corrections statistics for the federal Bureau of Justice Statistics.

Just 56 state and federal prisoners out of a population of about 1.3 million were actually killed by other inmates during the year long period between July 1999 and June 2000, and it was unknown how many were pedophiles, Beck said.

Michael Shively, a former Massachusetts corrections official, said even though Geoghan was in protective custody, it was impossible to completely guarantee his safety given that the other inmates who require protection are drawn from a difficult and dangerous population.

There's this murder of a rapist by his cell mate in Texas - http://www.prisonoffenders.com/prison_murder_texas.html

From the same site, talks a bit about how gangs target paedophiles - http://www.prisonoffenders.com/prison_life.html

Child rapists or molesters in prison are often the target of violent prison gangs and predatory inmates who often beat, extort and sometimes kill the sex offender.

Most child rapists with high profile crimes choose segregation and are housed in a single cell 23 hours a day. It is common for some prison facilities to keep protected custody offenders in areas reserved specifically for inmates who's lives are in danger, transgender inmates, ex-prison gang members, confirmed gang leaders and offenders who pose a danger to officers and other inmates.

A career criminal (drugs mostly), Carl Williams, was killed in prison here in Australia not so long ago. He was in solitary confinement, housed in a unit with two other inmates with whom he had supervised contact. He was killed with a prison officer standing 10 metres away. It was all caught on cctv.