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Thursday, June 05, 2003Dr Rachael Morris-Jones, a dermatologist at St Thomas's Hospital in London and consultant to Vichy Laboratoires, said: "I know we risk the dangers of the 'nanny state' . . . but it is neglect to allow a child to burn severely and in extreme cases, and where it was a recurrent thing, I think I would be in favour of prosecution." The article sites an American case in which this actually happened - an Ohio mother who was arrested after sheriff’s deputies spotted her with three sunburned children at the county fair. But, rather than support the dermatologist’s position, the case is actually one that shows just how dangerous it can be to use the club of the law to enforce good health habits (or parenting habits): Hibbits was arrested Aug. 14, after a sheriff's deputy noticed her 2-year-old daughter, Rose, and 10-month-old twin boys, Thomas and Timmy, had sunburned faces at the Jefferson County Fair the day before. Temperatures were in the 90s at the time. Hibbits was then charged with three counts of felony child endangerment, but the charges were reduced after authorities said the children were not as severely injured as they originally believed. Hibbits' attorney, Shawn Blake, said prosecutors charged his client too quickly. "There was nothing wrong with these kids in the past. There was nothing wrong with them from some sunburn. There was absolutely no evidence to substantiate a criminal complaint," he said. Overzealousness. A fault in anyone, whether they be prosecuting attorneys, sheriff’s deputies, or dermatologists. posted by Sydney on 6/05/2003 08:43:00 AM 0 comments 0 Comments: |
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