Sentence a ‘joke’

Dear editor:

So let me get this straight. As reported in the Nov. 17, 2015, edition of the paper, a woman pleads guilty to not one, not two, but three felony charges of endangering the welfare of a minor. Consequently, she was sentenced to five years of probation for each count to run concurrently and a total of $1,420 in fines and fees. What a joke!

This woman was not even providing basic needs for her sons, aged 12, 9 and 6. These children were hungry, using buckets for toilets and being confined for who knows how long. Truly despicable treatment of these boys at the hands of someone who is supposed to love, nurture and care for them. What if one of the boys had some sort of medical emergency while being locked away? What if the house caught fire and the boys could not escape while “Mommy” and her boyfriend were on another mission to procure water and go to the pharmacy (at daylight)?

The reasoning behind the sentence, according to the deputy prosecutor, was the mother had no prior record and no real harm or injury had been done to the children. Really? Um, let’s see, no food, no toilets, being imprisoned, forced to steal from neighbors because you’re hungry? Oh, and don’t forget, the children were put into state custody. Yeah, that’s not traumatizing at all. How about considering emotional scarring from this wretched chapter in their lives? I guess it was the mother’s good fortune she had not been caught before now. Or, she must have just woke up one day and decided to start locking her kids up.

I admit, I am not a lawyer or a judge, but it just seems wrong to only get a slap on the wrist for what this woman did to her three boys.

My prayers go out to these precious boys. I sincerely hope that they have happy, healthy and successful lives.

Sarcastic rant over.

Nancy Criss Hot Springs