Yikes! If my formerly favorite newspaper of all time is putting out "crap" like this and calling it a newstory--that is simply frightening. (In journalese, we call this editorializing and it's a big NO-NO!)
No, I don't want to take anything away from this tragedy but at the same time, I should be allowed to read and interpret the news for myself. I don't read the news to get the reporter's opinion--whether I agree with it or not. I do, however, expect objectivity and fairness in news coverage. No such luck reading this story.
Here are some disturbing excerpts:
If only someone had been a witness to Raijon Daniels' life.
If only someone -- a neighbor, a relative, a cop, a social worker -- had seen the 8-year-old boy's Richmond bedroom. The door that locked from the outside. The duct tape that bound him to his bed. The video system with which, police say, his mother spied on him from the next room...
Perhaps you wouldn't have to be reading this.
Raijon died Friday, apparently after swallowing household cleaner. His mother, Teresa Moses, was arrested on suspicion of murder, torture and child endangerment. One police officer told reporters it was the most disturbing crime scene he'd ever seen.
In the 15 years that I've covered child welfare, I've seen a lot of sad cases. But none like this one.
Apparently the abuse had been going on for a year or more....But it seems no one knew about Raijon's secret life of torture until it was too late to save him.
That's the part of this story that I just can't accept.
Note: After doing a little more digging, I discovered that this is a column--not a newstory. There is still one problem: It wasn't immediately evident upon initially reading the article.
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