Please watch the video below before reading further. Our exploration of the ramifications surrounding this story will never be fully understood without first viewing for yourself what we are dealing with here. . .
Is punishing a 7-year-old boy by putting hot sauce in his mouth child abuse? How about forcing him, pleading and screaming, into a cold shower?
This week in Anchorage Alaska, a jury will be reviewing the case of Jessica Beagley, a mother charged with misdemeanor child abuse after the above footage appeared on the Dr. Phil show last year.
To be considered abuse, the jury must decide if the punishment was cruel, torturous and disproportionate to what the child did. According to testimony, the boy, one of a set of twins recently adopted from Russia, got into trouble at school for sword-fighting with pencils and then denied it when his mother asked about it.
To be clear - he got into trouble at school and lied about it. Did his "crime" warrant this severe of a punishment?
5 comments:
See I am of 2 minds on this one. First... i don't think the hot sauce in the mouth is that bad, and it fits the "crime" really lying and cursing it would be fitting "punishment" for a 7 yr old. It would not work in my house, because my 3 boys eat buffalo wings, hot sauce on pizza etc. But i HAVE put soap in the mouth my my 6 year old who told his brother eff you! in the long form mind you. Now, my other mind tells me that cold shower in Alaska!!!! Is going to be a REALLY REALLY cold shower and THAT is torture. What good does it do really? Besides give the child hypothermia and/or frost bite. That part is unacceptable, imo.
All of the mother's behavior was Abusive with a capital "A" and demonstrates both physical and mental abuse. Telling him he "wanted" to get into trouble because he lied and when asked why he lied said "I didn't want to get into trouble", is mental abuse and keeps the child on insecure footing. The hotsauce is physically abusive and so is the cold shower. Cold showers have been used throughout the world as torture for Prisoners of War as an interrogation tactic.
I question this woman's motives in adopting the child in the first place. He should be removed from the home and given to someone that appreciates him, and she should go to jail.
You know - I'm going to have to agree with you. The double bind that she's using is crazy and her methods are disturbing. If this were adult - we would be labeling this as "assault" - why is it any different when we're talking about a naked child screaming for mercy at the hands of a woman who is supposed to be his touchstone for unconditional love. Yep - she should go to jail!
This is very disturbing to watch. Hot sauce isn't that bad for lying or swearing, I got soap in my mouth for that. The cold shower thing, That is clearly abuse. A seven year old does know right from wrong, but the mother should know Cold Showers and the kid screaming because of this she should be put in jail herself, and have them treat her the same way she treats her son... Cold Showers every night to show her what it's really like for her son.
And she let it be filmed?? Geez. What the h-e double hockey sticks. I suppose she's a Christian, and that she'll be hiding behind a verse on correction. Spanking a child's padded rear and what she is doing are a light year apart. Sigh...
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