Oh, just occurred to me: it’s also coldest early in the morning and late at night, when kids and their parents are less likely to be out and about, but it’s hottest in the middle of the day, when sad, pathetic, horrible morons like the mom in the OP are most likely to be out and about.
Well, that’s a good point, one I hadn’t thought of, but still (sorry, not arguing with you, still just not understanding this :D), in places like Minnesota, Michegan NY?? The Dakotas, Alaska. They have cold snaps where it does get and stay well below zero, nto just at night and the morning but for weeks at a time.
In a way, it would suggest that it IS, as hard as that is to believe, that parents are lulled into a false sense of security by the nice balmy weather.
But on the other hand, you know?? It’s not just the weather that would endanger kids. Kidnappers, car thieves, just plain sickos, hunger/thirst, panic? I mean, any and all of these possibilities should keep people on a high degree of watchfulness where it comes to their kids, in or out of cars.
sigh…just another way of saying “I don’t get it”.
I would suspect it’s indeed rather criminal negligence. Barring evidence to the contrary, I’ve no reason to believe she actually intended to kill her children. Since she intended that as a punishment, that would mean she expected the experience to be uncomfortable for the children, not deadly. I’m convinced there are plenty of people who are unaware that a pet, child, or even adult could die in a closed car left in the sun.
As such, I don’t think she would deserve a life sentence, let alone death penalty or torture. The intent counts a lot, and despite the consequences, ignorance and neglicence aren’t nywhere close to deliberatly killing a child.
CanvasShoes, I didn’t think you were trying to argue with me. I was just trying to think of some factors, and what I posted were all I could come up with; it’s hard for me to believe that, with all the public service announcements and such, some people don’t know about how hot a car can get in a short period of time. I guess some people really are that dumb, though, and it’s frightening to think that they get to reproduce or drive a car! And I agree that leaving kids in the car is monumentally stupid, even if weather is not an issue.
There was an earlier poster to this thread that said “you don’t leave your baby in the car for 30 seconds while you pay for gas, let alone 3 and 1/2 hours”, well, as a matter of fact, I do leave my kids in the car for 30 seconds while I pay for gas; I just make sure that I’m positioned in such a way that I can see the car at all times while I’m paying. But I never, ever, ever, ever leave my kids alone in the car while I go in anyplace!
I think that knowing the dangers of leaving children unattended in a locked car should be made part of getting a driver’s liscense. Put it in the states driver’s manual, and put a question about it on the written portion of the test. This would completely remove the “I didn’t know better” defense from the table.
For those who already have a license and do not have to take a written exam, the same thing could be accomplished by having them read and sign a statement when they renew their liscenses, and making it a condition of renewal.
It’s simple, and virtually cost free, and could save quite a few lives.
I’m shocked to find out one could just kill their kids and get away with it by visiting someplace warm on a sunny day and pleading ignorance.
And, also, when you leave a car somewhere with the windows up in the summer, it just gets hotter and hotter, but in the winter, it doesn’t get colder.