Couple wrongly accused of abusing their baby cannot have their children back because it is too late

Couple wrongly accused of abusing their baby cannot have their children back because it is 'too late', court rules

www.dailymail.co.uk

Judges refused to return three children to a couple accused of physical abuse today despite ruling that they may have been victims of a miscarriage of justice.

Mark and Nicky Webster were left devastated after being told that it was 'too late' for them to be reunited now that the youngsters were settled with their adoptive families, even though the original decision to take them away could have been wrong.

The couple's eldest children, a daughter and two sons aged nine, seven and five, were taken into care in 2004 after doctors said that six tiny fractures found on the middle child had been deliberately inflicted.

However, a team of medical experts later concluded that the injuries were not caused by violent twisting and shaking, but were symptoms of scurvy, a now rare vitamin deficiency caused by the family GP's advice that the child should be fed on soya milk deficient in Vitamin C.

(visit the link for the full news article)


Mod edit: Attempt to fix cutoff title.

[edit on 2/11/2009 by Hal9000]

[edit on 11/2/2009 by nerbot]

This is crazy!

It just goes to show how IGNORANT the authorities and the legal system can be.

What better place for a young child than with their natural parents?

"The Websters have not seen their first three children since January 2005, when they were five, three and two."

I feel sick.....

Don't let me near a judge.....ever!

www.dailymail.co.uk
(visit the link for the full news article)

And the Doctor who originally prescribed a vitamin C deficient soya milk that caused the symptoms of scurvy should face the most extreme punishment possible.

[edit on 11/2/2009 by nerbot]

While I agree that it was horrible that these kids were taken away from their parents due to a "mistake" , what kind of impact would returning them now cause?

This is a horrible miscarriage of justice, but those kids are now settled with new families (or a new family) and haven't seen their natural parents for years. What kind of upheaval would returning them cause the kids? Especially if they were just snatched out of their current homes and returned to people who are basically strangers to them now.

This never should have happened in the first place, but it did. Instead of being "too late", maybe the kids should be slowly reintroduced to their natural parents and see what happens.

reply to post by skeptic1



You have GOT to be kidding! These people are the natural parents, the children deserve to be with their biological mom & dad, and the idiot investigators should be fired and prosecuted theirselves.

Don't the children deserve to be raised by their real parents? How much harm was inflicted on them being taken away in the first place?

Originally posted by skeptic1
What kind of upheaval would returning them cause the kids?

Not as much as when they grow up and find out about the whole affair I bet.

And how can it be that the law can take these children from their natural parents but not from their adoptive parents?

Seems like nobody with the power to enforce the law wants the responsibility if you ask me.

[edit on 11/2/2009 by nerbot]

Originally posted by skeptic1
While I agree that it was horrible that these kids were taken away from their parents due to a "mistake"

, what kind of impact would returning them now cause?

This is a horrible miscarriage of justice, but those kids are now settled with new families (or a new family) and haven't seen their natural parents for years. What kind of upheaval would returning them cause the kids? Especially if they were just snatched out of their current homes and returned to people who are basically strangers to them now.

This never should have happened in the first place, but it did. Instead of being "too late", maybe the kids should be slowly reintroduced to their natural parents and see what happens.

Well, for one, this isn`t about a material thing such as a car or land or anything of that nature, where posession is nine tenths of the law. This is about human beings that were taken away from the parents, and just like the law always does, take it`s good sweet time in getting through cases such as this. Sure, they wanted to make sure everything checked out, but, why should the parents now suffer because of it? Believe me, if it were my kids, I would go to the ends of the earth making those who caused this pay for it till my kids were returned to me. This is nothing but the courts way of saying, to bad, you are going to do as WE say now. This only tells me, just how much we mean as human beings when it comes to courts and the government. We are nothing but a race of slaves, all of us, to be told that we have no rights as God gave us. It`s all BS.

reply to post by skeptic1


This is ridiculous. Those children weren't infants and they remember their parents in the core of their beings. With all of their hearts they need their parents. These children need to be returned ASAP to their family. The foster parents can get visits if the children need that.
This is a very very dangerous legal presendent and the judge must be fired, or removed by the people.

Edit to add: I remember being fed peas in a highchair and even told them where they'd placed it, and crawling on freshly mowed grass after my leg cast was removed when I was 11 months old. I remember picking huckleberries at 2 and 3 and when I was 3 we lived at my grandfather's campsite in a little white house. My grandfather used to man the store and we colored up our paper money and took it to him, and he gave us fudgies and revels!

[edit on 11-2-2009 by mystiq]

This is awful, just awful! I think there should be some sort of system set up where the children are reintoduced to their real parents over a short period of time and maybe they can learn to be a family again.

This never should have happend. One doctor should not have that much power to be able to cause such a mess.


Peace to all,
Grandma

Originally posted by mystiq
This is a very very dangerous legal presendent and the judge must be fired, or removed by the people.

Hopefully this case will bring about changes in the law, but judges and the like are ABOVE THE LAW themselves.

"Grab yer pichforks and puncture the tyres on their Rolls-Royces"

This just goes to show that YOU do not have any legal right to your own children. They are OWNED by the state and the state can and will do with them as they please.

Originally posted by skeptic1
While I agree that it was horrible that these kids were taken away from their parents due to a "mistake"

, what kind of impact would returning them now cause?

This is a horrible miscarriage of justice, but those kids are now settled with new families (or a new family) and haven't seen their natural parents for years. What kind of upheaval would returning them cause the kids? Especially if they were just snatched out of their current homes and returned to people who are basically strangers to them now.

This never should have happened in the first place, but it did. Instead of being "too late", maybe the kids should be slowly reintroduced to their natural parents and see what happens.

Uh the kids were 5, 3, and 2 when they were taken, that's plenty of time to know and remember who your real parents are. Why would it be an "upheaval" to return them to their true parents? Certainly not much more of an "upheaval" than what the justice system did to them back in 2004.

I agree that this was a horrible injustice towards the parents and the children. I agree that the doctors should be investigated and have their licenses revoked. I agree that the lawyers and judges should be strung up in the town square.

And, I never said that the kids should continue to be kept from their natural parents.

I said that the kids shouldn't be immediately snatched from their current homes and immediately placed back with the parents. I said that the natural parents and the kids should be slowly reintroduced and go on from there.

And, no, this isn't about a material possession....unlike a car or a home, these children are people with minds and hearts and feelings. And, they shouldn't be more scarred than they already are by this situation.

Yes, the natural parents should be back in their childrens' lives. They did nothing wrong.

reply to post by darkelf



Exactly darkelf, you took the words right our of my mouth. That`s why I said we were nothing but slaves to them. When your called working class......you better believe it, working to pay tax upon tax, plus interest.

reply to post by nerbot


So authorities abusing power claim. But since I was very little I've never agreed with them and its one of the first changes I would be making. It should be a jury duty of citizens, with a jury duty of citizens as watch dogs over it, and whenever a miscarriage of justice is dicovered, overturned quickly.

I stand by what I say, the only reason they're not yanked out yet is because I look around and find most people aren't getting it, are sleeping and haven't understood that you can't let anything slide, its up to us to police this system.

I wonder how the great doctor and judge would feel if someone simply kidnapped there kids then called up three years later and said, "hey, there doing just fine with me, it would be too hard on them to give them back, have a good life."

I smell a huge law suit avoidance in this case.

I mean really they claim you can not sue over something like this sense it was acted on at the time in the best interest of the children.

However what's the difference between that and someone kidnapping the kids and then they discover who has the kids years later? In that case they are sent to psychologists then reunited with their parents if their not too young, if they are really young during then they just go straight to the parents.

If they pull them from adopted families those families can sue. So I think it's the old cover your but and avoid a lawsuit scenario. That's assuming the same laws apply there.

They could treat it like a divorce case and give each family legal rights to have custody of the children at set times. Which I'm sure all families involved would agree for the children sake it is in the best interest of them all around. Chances are the families will all become close anyway and in the end there wouldn't be any problems.

Good grief, y'all sound like you're back in the middle ages spouting about "blood will tell" and stuff like that.

There's nothing magical about one's biological parents. "Natural" parents kill and abuse their kids all the time. "Real" parents are the ones who love their kids and take care of them, not the ones who contributed the sperm and the egg.

A biological parent shouldn't have an inalienable right to have possession of their offpsring that trumps the child's welfare and stability, and children are NOT necessarily better off with their "natural" parents.

As someone else said, they should be slowly reintroduced to their parents again, not just taken from the people that have raised them for 3 years. Alright, kids should ideally be with their natural parents, but being ripped straight away from the that have looked after them would do just as much harm as not returning them at all. Especially with the younger ones, that were 3 and 2 when they were taken I think. Alright they'll have some memories of their original parents, but I'd be willing to bet the majority of their memories are now of their adpotive parents. Wonder if the youngest even knows that they're not it's real parents. Just thinking out loud with that point.

Just as an aside, as sorry as I feel for the natural parents, I can't help but feel sorry for the adoptive parents too. They took the kids, in their minds saving them from an abusive home life, know they find out that legally they shouldn't have been taken away in the first place.

Ideally, a system where all the parents involved, natural and adpotive could have contact with the children would be best. More love kids grow up with the better, imo.

Edit: As far as I know though, adoption is a legally enforced contract, is there any way to end it?

[edit on 11-2-2009 by DarkPassenger]

I'll bet no one asked the children what they wanted.

Second line.

Originally posted by C.H.U.D.
I'll bet no one asked the children what they wanted.

Second line.

With the children being so young, I'd bet at least the younger ones would want to stay with the people that were familiar to them, the adoptive parents. Not that they'd really be old enough to understand it though, least properly. All speculation though.