Child’s death is the punishment
Should all caretakers who leave children in cars be prosecuted?
Cases where children die at the negligence of a caretaker are handled in a variety of ways, but should they be prosecuted at all?
The little boy who loved having his photo taken smiles cherubically from the obituary pages.
Gabriel Noel Torres-Rodriguez — an almost 3-year-old who loved to dance, sing and mug for the camera — died Monday in a sweltering car outside Precious Moments Learning Center. His 19-yearold aunt, who is accused of leaving him there for eight hours while she worked inside, sobbed throughout her court appearance earlier this week.
She told police that she arrived at work, with him strapped into his car seat, but then forgot to bring him into the center, where he normally spent his days.
If Sandra Rodriguez Miramontes is prosecuted and convicted of child abuse resulting in death — a first-degree felony — she could get a basic sentence of 18 years. But should she be prosecuted? Attitudes vary widely, as do the way such cases are handled.
In about 40 percent of cases nationally — according to a Washington Post investigation in 2009 — the prosecutor does not
press charges, determining that living with the guilt is a lifelong sentence. In the other 60 percent of cases, a range of charges are filed — from child abuse to murder.
Kari Brandenburg, Bernalillo County’s district attorney, said her office is just beginning to gather evidence in the Rodriguez Miramontes case.
Her office also continues to investigate the last time a child was left in a car and died in New Mexico. That occurred more than two years ago — in July 2010 — when police say Stephanie Piñon left her 2-year-old daughter in a minivan in the Southwestern Indian Polytechnic Institute parking lot.
The DA’s office has not indicted Piñon but says her case is still pending. Lisa Trabaudo, a deputy district attorney, said her office is working on a pre-indictment plea deal.
“These are very, very difficult cases,” Brandenburg said. “We’re talking about an unintentional act, generally a negligent act, that has extremely dire consequences for the child.”
Brandenburg said each case is different. But, typically, her office will weigh such factors as age of the individual, prior criminal record, prior record of child abuse, possible drug or alcohol use, reasons why the incident happened and the family’s feelings.
Rodriguez Miramontes’ attorney has said her family feels no ill will toward her.
Complicating matters, there is an immigration hold on Rodriguez Miramontes. Brandenburg said her office usually works with U.S. Immigrations Customs Enforcement to hold off on any action — such as deportation — until her office has had a chance to prosecute the case.
Prosecutors’ discretion
From 1991 to 2011, there were nine cases of children dying in cars in New Mexico.
So far this year, 23 children have died in a car across the country, according to a national advocacy organization called Kids and Cars.
Prosecutors have great discretion over how to handle the cases, said Elizabeth Rapaport, a law professor at the University of New Mexico. Public opinion could affect whether a prosecutor decides to charge the individual, she said. And opinions may vary widely among community members who serve on a jury.
“A jury may decide on its own that the individual has suffered enough,” Rapaport said. “Or they may be punitive. They may say, ‘if you’re damn fool enough to leave an infant or toddler to broil in a car, you should suffer criminal punishment.’ ”
Nationally, there have been at least 28 cases from 1993 to 2011 in which the guardian was charged with murder, but many of those involved drugs or alcohol, according to Kids and Cars. Of those, six were convicted. More typically, suspects are charged with involuntary manslaughter or some form of child abuse, said Amber Rollins, executive assistant at Kids and Cars.
Cases involving a parent are not charged as often as a guardian or day care provider, she said.
Kids and Cars advocates for better safety measures, such as a back-seat sensor that would indicate if a child is still sitting there after the ignition is turned off. The group also disseminates information to hospitals and birthing centers through a campaign called “Look Before You Lock.”
Easy to ‘misremember’
Vincent Clark, an associate professor of psychology and neuroscience at UNM, said it’s easy for people to “misremember” things, and it could be that Rodriguez Miramontes thought she had brought Gabriel in with her that morning. She might have been remembering a different day, he said.
Factors such as a change of routine, lack of sleep, distraction and illness can lead to a memory deficit, he said.
“All that together, they’re not a fully functioning person in the sense that they don’t have perfect memory, or as good a memory as you would expect a normal person to have,” he said.
Rollins said she knows of cases in which loving and doting parents forgot their children in cars to tragic ends.
“Even to the best of parents when these factors combine, your brain can fail you when you least expect it,” Rollins said. “These types of brain lapses happen to people every day. Fortunately for most people, there’s not a baby in the car involved.”
In the case of Rodriguez Miramontes, she picked up her nephew like she did every day, then took him with her to Precious Moments day care where she worked.
But this time, she “just left the car and forgot him,” according to the criminal complaint.
Her nephew was strongminded, loving, curious and intelligent, according to his obituary. “He was very expressive and a great imitator of his big brothers,” it said.
Brandenburg said the unintentional nature of these deaths makes the cases difficult.
“These are different circumstances, because they’re not trying to inflict injury on the child,” Brandenburg said. “It, for whatever reason, happens. That’s what creates the challenge. Our children are the most vulnerable members of our community, and it pulls at everybody’s heartstrings.”