# A Child Once Lived...He Had No Hope. **URL:** \ **Category:** The BBQ Pit\ **Created:** [February 27, 2006, 8:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-child-once-lived-he-had-no-hope/346360 "2006-02-27T20:18:08Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 18\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Bosda\_Di\_Chi\_of\_Tricor](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bosda_di_chi_of_tricor/32/16845_2.png) [@Bosda\_Di\_Chi\_of\_Tricor](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bosda_Di_Chi_of_Tricor)\ **Post date:** [February 27, 2006, 8:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-child-once-lived-he-had-no-hope/346360/1 "2006-02-27T20:18:08Z")
He never had a chance. [http://www.cnn.com/2006/LAW/02/27/slain.boy.ap/index.html](http://www.cnn.com/2006/LAW/02/27/slain.boy.ap/index.html) > [@](#): > > LANSING, Michigan (AP) – Ricky Holland had two sets of parents in his short life. His biological parents were accused of neglecting him. His adoptive parents are now charged with killing him. ---
**Author:** ![Waverly](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/57b2e6/32.png) [@Waverly](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Waverly)\ **Post date:** [February 27, 2006, 8:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-child-once-lived-he-had-no-hope/346360/2 "2006-02-27T20:31:17Z")
> [@Bosda Di'Chi of Tricor](#): > > He never had a chance. > > [http://www.cnn.com/2006/LAW/02/27/slain.boy.ap/index.html](http://www.cnn.com/2006/LAW/02/27/slain.boy.ap/index.html) It’s very sad. And not to diminish the tragedy, but of all the terrible stories out there, why have you selected this one for an OP? You don’t provide any information besides a 5 word synopsis and a link. ---
**Author:** ![Amazon\_Floozy\_Goddess](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/779978/32.png) [@Amazon\_Floozy\_Goddess](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Amazon_Floozy_Goddess)\ **Post date:** [February 27, 2006, 8:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-child-once-lived-he-had-no-hope/346360/3 "2006-02-27T20:33:56Z")
I’ll never cease to be floored at how all this shit continues to slip past social workers, teachers, etc. There had to have been somebody who knew this poor kid was being abused and was too chickenshit to say anything. ---
**Author:** ![RyJae](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/9d8465/32.png) [@RyJae](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RyJae)\ **Post date:** [February 27, 2006, 8:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-child-once-lived-he-had-no-hope/346360/4 "2006-02-27T20:36:41Z")
This is another black mark on state agencies related to taking care of children. How often is it you find out about an abused child being killed and the State had no prior records of abuse? It seems to me the ones I have read, they always have been abused but the state has to heavy of a caseload to do something about it. Senseless tragedy, you would think with the frequency of reading these, they would become numbing, but they do not. Just looking at that young boy’s picture brings sadness knowing what he could of achieved, had the tyrants who took him in had allowed him. ---
**Author:** ![RyJae](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/9d8465/32.png) [@RyJae](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RyJae)\ **Post date:** [February 27, 2006, 8:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-child-once-lived-he-had-no-hope/346360/5 "2006-02-27T20:38:56Z")
> [@Amazon Floozy Goddess](#): > > I’ll never cease to be floored at how all this shit continues to slip past social workers, teachers, etc. > > There had to have been somebody who knew this poor kid was being abused and was too chickenshit to say anything. From the link > [@](#): > > According to detectives, Ricky Holland was brought to school on a leash, put in diapers when he was too old to wear them and given carrot sandwiches for lunch even though he hated carrots, they said. > > The boy had unexplained bruises and marks consistent with abuse, authorities said. Yet despite reports of abuse to state officials, the Hollands retained custody of Ricky and four younger children. > [@](#): > > Jackson school personnel, however, suspected Ricky was being abused and reported it to state caseworkers at Child Protective Services, according to law enforcement. People did report it, they just didn’t have time to do anything about it. Cases like this make me wonder if the caseworkers is at least partly responsible and if just being fired is punishment enough. ---
**Author:** ![mhendo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mhendo/32/3159_2.png) [@mhendo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mhendo)\ **Post date:** [February 27, 2006, 9:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-child-once-lived-he-had-no-hope/346360/6 "2006-02-27T21:18:31Z")
While there are bad caseworkers out there, and i have no doubt that caseworker negligence is contributory in some cases like this, i think what really needs to be examined is systemic issues such as underfunding and excessive case loads. If Michigan is anything like many other states, the social workers charged with handling these cases probably have twice as many cases as they can reasonably handle, and probably also work dozens of hours of unpaid overtime just to keep up with the bare minimum. I wonder how many people who get all outraged at cases like this also fight tooth and nail against any attempt to increase state taxes or allocate more funds to these state agencies. ---
**Author:** ![eleanorigby](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/ee7513/32.png) [@eleanorigby](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/eleanorigby)\ **Post date:** [February 27, 2006, 9:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-child-once-lived-he-had-no-hope/346360/7 "2006-02-27T21:28:02Z")
I agree, **mhendo**. At the risk of sounding very naive and ignorant, I wonder this: are these people (for parents I cannot call them) ever fucking interviewed or analysed? I’m serious–can we get to WHY sick fucks do this shit and then work to prevent it? I’ve been hearing these kinds of stories for all my life now and never is a root cause analysis done. Everyone moans and sighs and wrings their hands over the loss of this poor kid and then everyone seems to go home again until next time. What is this? Yeah, I know it’s an evil,awful world, but dammit-we should be able to reduce this crap somewhat. How the hell did these people get to be fosters? Start with that process, right there. I mean, this stuff goes well beyond spanking or even hitting with a belt (neither of which I sanction, btw) into some serious psych issues here. I get no kick out of reading this crap–it makes me physically ill. Anyone have any suggestions as to how we can make an impact on this? I am happy to up my taxes to do so–if only I could earmark the money… ---
**Author:** ![Nawth\_Chucka](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/c57346/32.png) [@Nawth\_Chucka](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Nawth_Chucka)\ **Post date:** [February 27, 2006, 10:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-child-once-lived-he-had-no-hope/346360/8 "2006-02-27T22:53:01Z")
Even though I’ve been out of Michigan for a few months now, I remember when this happened last summer, or at least what was being reported by the parents as what had happened. I prayed for him when they searched and searched, that he would be found safe. It was mentioned in the reports at the time that he was adopted, and being an adoption advocate I found that distasteful, as though he wasn’t _really_ their child or some such thing that deserved mention for implications’ sake. I guess it was more salient than I realized, as their biological children yet live. The saddest thing may be that no one legally related to him has claimed his body, while those w/ no ties clamor to care for his remains. ---
**Author:** ![eleanorigby](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/ee7513/32.png) [@eleanorigby](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/eleanorigby)\ **Post date:** [February 28, 2006, 12:28am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-child-once-lived-he-had-no-hope/346360/9 "2006-02-28T00:28:30Z")
Sorry, my post should say adoptive, not fosters. But the point is the same. ☹ ---
**Author:** ![Bosda\_Di\_Chi\_of\_Tricor](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bosda_di_chi_of_tricor/32/16845_2.png) [@Bosda\_Di\_Chi\_of\_Tricor](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bosda_Di_Chi_of_Tricor)\ **Post date:** [February 28, 2006, 1:29am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-child-once-lived-he-had-no-hope/346360/10 "2006-02-28T01:29:18Z")
> [@Waverly](#): > > It’s very sad. And not to diminish the tragedy, but of all the terrible stories out there, why have you selected this one for an OP? You don’t provide any information besides a 5 word synopsis and a link. It just depressed me so damn much. ---
**Author:** ![Nawth\_Chucka](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/c57346/32.png) [@Nawth\_Chucka](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Nawth_Chucka)\ **Post date:** [February 28, 2006, 2:57am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-child-once-lived-he-had-no-hope/346360/11 "2006-02-28T02:57:09Z")
> [@eleanorigby](#): > > Sorry, my post should say adoptive, not fosters. But the point is the same. ☹ IIRC, both are correct in this case; they fostered him and then adopted him - for what purpose I refuse to imagine. ---
**Author:** ![tsarina](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/f4b2a3/32.png) [@tsarina](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/tsarina)\ **Post date:** [February 28, 2006, 11:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-child-once-lived-he-had-no-hope/346360/12 "2006-02-28T23:31:09Z")
> [@Nawth Chucka](#): > > The saddest thing may be that no one legally related to him has claimed his body, while those w/ no ties clamor to care for his remains. They haven’t claimed his remains because they haven’t been allowed to bury him yet. The full results of the autopsy were just published in the Michigan papers today. ---
**Author:** ![clairobscur](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/839c29/32.png) [@clairobscur](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/clairobscur)\ **Post date:** [March 1, 2006, 10:42am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-child-once-lived-he-had-no-hope/346360/13 "2006-03-01T10:42:22Z")
> [@Abbie Normal](#): > > People did report it, they just didn’t have time to do anything about it. Cases like this make me wonder if the caseworkers is at least partly responsible and if just being fired is punishment enough. I’m very sympathetic for these people. They’ve a damn hard job. Dealing with situations that would make most of us throw up in digust is part of their everyday duties, they’re abused verbally or worst by half the people they’re in contact with, they’ve to make all the time decisions of dramatical importance for other people and in particular children and have to live with it if they ever made the wrong one, they aren’t ever thanked by anybody, but if something goes wrong, one way or the other (you should never had taken the child away!! You should never have left the child with his parents!) they’re always on the receiving end, and if things are in any way similar in the USA, they are paid close to nothing and are handed thrice as much work as they can be reasonnably expected to do, and as a result never can do what they’re supposed to (and eventually pay the consequences for this when fire comes to stove, because, well…they were _supposed_ to do it, like for instance follow closely several hundreds of families). This job is the poster child of “damned if you do, damned if you don’t”. And it’s a pretty useful job too. Even assuming that some case worker made a big mistake in this case, how many other children did he save during his career? When such tragic events happen, I often read attacks against the case workers, but when there are pit threads about a similar situation that fortunately didn’t end tragically, I never read any post praising them. There are a number of other difficult, very necessary, jobs out there : nurses, teachers, police officers, whatever… But mostly all of them get at least some modicum of respect or praise for time to time. But case workers? I only hear of them when they get some flak from one reason or another… ---
**Author:** ![TommyTutone](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/c4cdca/32.png) [@TommyTutone](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TommyTutone)\ **Post date:** [March 1, 2006, 4:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-child-once-lived-he-had-no-hope/346360/14 "2006-03-01T16:09:31Z")
I don’t get it, so please someone show me where I am wrong, but I’ve adopted one child and have started the paperwork to adopt one more. In the course of this paperwork, for the state, for the US government, as well as the country from where we will be adopting (Ukraine for our first son, Guatemala for our second child), we need to have criminal background checks done, references from neighbors, family, employers, three years of tax statements, home studies both as a couple and individually, and lots and lots of money paid. My first question is why the hell would someone go through all of these steps just to abuse, torture, and kill the child they worked so hard to adopt? My other question is how they could have gotten through all these steps without some sign of their obvious sickness and sadistic behavior showing up? ---
**Author:** ![ivylass](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/9de053/32.png) [@ivylass](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ivylass)\ **Post date:** [March 1, 2006, 5:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-child-once-lived-he-had-no-hope/346360/15 "2006-03-01T17:47:51Z")
What a beautiful little boy. How tragic his life was. It’s stuff like this that makes me hope reincarnation and karma are real. I’m hoping he comes back as a dearly loved child to some multi-billionaire couple who tried for 15 years to get pregnant, and rear him so well he becomes a doctor who finds the cure for cancer or something. Poor sweetie. I’m so sorry. ---
**Author:** ![Tenar](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/35a633/32.png) [@Tenar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tenar)\ **Post date:** [March 3, 2006, 1:44am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-child-once-lived-he-had-no-hope/346360/16 "2006-03-03T01:44:33Z")
> [@TommyTutone](#): > > My first question is why the hell would someone go through all of these steps just to abuse, torture, and kill the child they worked so hard to adopt? Although the child was young, perhaps there was some kind of adoption subsidy, or perhaps they had him on welfare. In short, it may have been for money. Or, who the hell knows, maybe they’re just a couple of sick fucks. Remember Joel Steinberg? He circumvented the whole system and certainly got no cash benefits for poor “Lisa,” but he took her in and abused and murdered her nonetheless (and neglected her “brother,” known as Travis). ---
**Author:** ![Ludovic](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/7ab992/32.png) [@Ludovic](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ludovic)\ **Post date:** [March 3, 2006, 2:13am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-child-once-lived-he-had-no-hope/346360/17 "2006-03-03T02:13:41Z")
Ad – “What Type of Mom Are You” :rolleyes: ---
**Author:** ![katie1341](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/91b2a8/32.png) [@katie1341](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/katie1341)\ **Post date:** [March 3, 2006, 12:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-child-once-lived-he-had-no-hope/346360/18 "2006-03-03T12:01:25Z")
10 or 12 years ago, there was a case in a nearby town that sounds like it was similar to this. There were six or eight kids from one family taken into foster care because the father was accused of molesting two of the girls (he was later convicted). They were all put in different foster homes except for two 3-yr-old twins, a girl and a boy. The foster dad had a felony conviction for repeated drunk driving. This was their first foster. The kids had been in two experienced foster homes, but DFCS had been asked to remove them becasue of behavor problems. The little boy ended up dead from a very bad head injury which both foster parents claimed happened when he fell off of the toilet. The ME who testified at the trial said that a fall to cause a head injury of the type this child had would have had to be from about 3 stories, and in his opinion it was caused by a blow to the head. ``` Other witnesses testified that the two foster kids were treated markedly worse than the couple's own kids, that they were forced to eat the contents of their soiled clothing as punishment for not making it to the toilet, that they were hit with fly swatters, they were put in the cellar under the house as punishment. Both of the foster parents were convicted of murder and given life sentences. I represented the foster father, and I've gotta tell you, it was the closest I've ever come to getting out of the Public Defender biz. One of the DFCS workers supervising this foster was indicted for, and later convicted of, falsifying her reports, saying that she' dvisited and that things were hunky-dory when she actually had been nowhere near the foster home. I personally think that she should have been at the defendants' table with the foster parents charged with felony murder. ```