Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: THURSDAY, January 23, 1992 TAG: 9201240597
SECTION: EDITORIAL PAGE: A8 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: PATRICIA HUTSON
DATELINE: LENGTH: Medium
TOO OFTEN, RUSH OF COMPASSION IS LATE
I MUST AGREE with Jennifer Riddel (letter, Jan. 1). What people do after a child dies from neglect or abuse amounts to little more than a gesture.I'm sure all the attention, gifts, etc., for little Isaiah were from the heart and well-meant. But as your article ("A purpose to a short life," Dec. 15) pointed out, it did much more for the participants than it actually did for Isaiah.
Like Ms. Riddel, I've often struggled to comprehend why so many people rush forward to show compassion and grief after a neglected or abused child is dead. What about all the little ones who live with pain and fear day by day?
I am a subscriber to the Roanoke Times & World-News and read each issue fairly thoroughly; and of the cases reported since Isaiah's death, one in particular seemed worse than most. On Oct. 3, there was an article about a 3-year-old girl found in her father's custody with cuts, bruises, burns and broken legs.
I saw no front-page spread on this child's plight, no reports of public outrage or public compassion, no offers of help for this child. The man's attorney reported the child "began a pattern of self-destructive behavior" when the father moved her into his girlfriend's home, which seemed to suggest a reason for child abuse and is total nonsense.
No reason was given why the girlfriend allowed this in her home. Yet even the authorities seemed hindered in prosecuting the case, agreeing to seek less than the maximum if the father gave up his rights to the girl. In civilized society, his behavior should have cancelled any right he had.
The difference in these cases: One died and received attention and compassion; the other lived, and although she obviously needed helping hands, it seems none was offered.
Was it the fact one was an infant? Yet isn't a 3-year-old as vulnerable as an infant? Was it partly because Isaiah died on Christmas Eve? Yet this little girl has lived for three Christmas Eves and probably died many emotional deaths because of the treatment she's received.
Where is this little girl now? And all the others who have been removed from abusive parents' custody? Are they in a foster-care system where they might once again face abuse?
I, for one, would like to see some follow-ups done on abused children so that the public knows whether or not they are getting help. It might generate some compassion and help for those still alive.
\ AUTHOR Patricia Hutson lives in Newport where she is a free-lance artist, writer and homemaker.