A local man was charged today with 2nd degree murder as a result of the death of his 7 week old son. The child suffered injuries consistent with shaken baby syndrome. I do not live in a big city necessarily which is why it seriously irks me tremendously that reports of children dying from shaken baby syndrome seem to be trickling in at an alarmingly increasing rate. And, it always seems like it is a parent not even a sitter who is the one committing the atrocious act of ending the life of the infant. Now, I am not, of course, aware of all the details of the case. I am a believer in the judicial process of innocent until proven guilty. I am just talking about the generalities of the prevelance of shaken baby syndrome not this specific case. What I do know in my heart of hearts is that there is never a reason to shake an infant much less shake a baby to the point of murdering it. There is nothing anyone can tell me that will make this act less vile or despicable. I have never had the joy of being a mother. I have infertility issues and perhaps for this reason find the idea of having a child of my own as so much more of a blessing as perhaps these ungrateful parents do. But really, I can't imagine a level of frustration so great with a tiny, innocent infant that could be so great to bring a human being to harm an infant with the hope of making the crying stop. I know human depravity exists. I am certainly no innocent naive enough not to be aware of it. Somehow in my mind though the insanity that must exist to allow serial killers to do what they do seems less horrifying to me than overtaking a 7 week old child. I can't imagine how people are incapable of seeing a healthy just possibly cholicky baby as anything other than a blessing. I know life can be stressful, but never stressful enough to take it out on a precious baby. And, honestly if you don't think you can handle being a parent there is a guaranteed way to ensure that won't happen; don't do it. I don't know where the mother was. No details were available in any of the news I heard or read about that. There are a million possibilities as to why she didn't stop him like simply not being there(like gone to get medicine or herself being incapacited ie in the hospital). I know the way things work around here and had she in any way been able to stop this murder and didn't, she would have been charged. I just get so rilled up when I hear about the deaths of babies which so easily could have been prevented especially when there are so many people who so desperately want to have a child of their own.
As a sidenote, I must say it was disturbing to read a local news article that was so poorly edited that it read the man was charged in the "alleged death" of his infant son. Really. I mean I doubt the death was alleged. I am sure they mean the alleged murder. I know this was just a local write up, but poor editing like this just drives me up a wall and makes me laugh a bit as well. I know I am sick, sick former English teacher.
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