Amanda Howard's Blog, page 7
March 29, 2009
One Upmanship in the World of Predators
The world reeled in shock and revulsion when the news of Elizabeth Fritzl and her monstrous father hit the media several months ago. Shock were we to learn of the woman's life in the basement jail she shared with three of the children she spawned.
Yet as the ink dries on the court order that Josef Fritzl spend the rest of his too short life behind bars, it appears that the media is trying to find the next, worst, longer incarcerated victim of incest and depravity.
Today, is no different. In Colombia a man has been accused of raping his adopted daughter, and father her eleven children (Elizabeth Fritzl only gave birth to seven). The man is pleading not guilty to the charges of incest on the basis that the girl, now 35, is not biologically his daughter. A small recompense for the brutality he made the girl suffer for the past twenty-odd years.
This story comes on the coattails of yesterday's news of another man in Italy this time, who imprisoned and raped his daughter, fathering several children. This heinous creature also encouraged his son to do the same to his sister, as well as his own daughters.
The first question that comes to mind, is what is the world coming to when the media is trying to find the next Fritzl case? And two in two days, is far more concerning than one would ever like to imagine.
How many more Elizabeth Fritzls are out there now, hoping and preying that they too will one day see the light of day? The thought is frightening, but unfortunately, no doubt, there are more, some may never be found.
My prayers go out to those victims who have been rescued, their life of hell is finally over, and now comes the time for healing those deep scars. For those who may still be hidden away (sometimes in plain sight), I will continue to hope that they too will one day be free.
Anyone who requires help, please call your local police. Do something, say something.Thank you for visiting Amanda Howard at www.thecrimeweb.com
Yet as the ink dries on the court order that Josef Fritzl spend the rest of his too short life behind bars, it appears that the media is trying to find the next, worst, longer incarcerated victim of incest and depravity.
Today, is no different. In Colombia a man has been accused of raping his adopted daughter, and father her eleven children (Elizabeth Fritzl only gave birth to seven). The man is pleading not guilty to the charges of incest on the basis that the girl, now 35, is not biologically his daughter. A small recompense for the brutality he made the girl suffer for the past twenty-odd years.
This story comes on the coattails of yesterday's news of another man in Italy this time, who imprisoned and raped his daughter, fathering several children. This heinous creature also encouraged his son to do the same to his sister, as well as his own daughters.
The first question that comes to mind, is what is the world coming to when the media is trying to find the next Fritzl case? And two in two days, is far more concerning than one would ever like to imagine.
How many more Elizabeth Fritzls are out there now, hoping and preying that they too will one day see the light of day? The thought is frightening, but unfortunately, no doubt, there are more, some may never be found.
My prayers go out to those victims who have been rescued, their life of hell is finally over, and now comes the time for healing those deep scars. For those who may still be hidden away (sometimes in plain sight), I will continue to hope that they too will one day be free.
Anyone who requires help, please call your local police. Do something, say something.Thank you for visiting Amanda Howard at www.thecrimeweb.com
February 25, 2009
Children being tried as Adults
This morning a friend emailed me a link to a story about a teenager murdering his mother and injuring his father for taking away his XBox games.
You can read the article here: http://www.news.com.au/technology/story/0,28348,24908710-5014239,00.html
Ok, I have a problem with this – besides the obvious, (I am sending the link to my son to read, as he doesn’t believe these stupid games are an obsession) – why are children being tried as adults? Earlier this week, I read of the boy who killed his father’s pregnant girlfriend. He is ten and being tried as an adult.
Isn’t there a reason that the age of majority is 18 (or 21 in some countries) Wasn’t that made a law? Wasn’t it that children, yes children, under a certain age are unable to comprehend the finality of their actions, whether that be homicide, or stealing a toy car? Isn’t there different laws to deal with juveniles and their punishment for crimes, even as heinous as murder? I understand, yes this guy is 17, it’s close enough (though that still makes the law grey and not black and white), but a ten year old?
I know there is the emotional side of it, if a boy of ten can kill someone in cold blood then what type of adult would he become, (think Venables and Thompson of the James Bulger murder in the UK in -93) but still should a man be punished for life for what a child has done?
We have all done things as children that we look back at and think (politely) “oops shouldn’t have done that”, but had we been caught (doing something serious) do you think the person you are now should still be paying for that?
I just don’t understand trying children as adults, regardless of the crime.Thank you for visiting Amanda Howard at www.thecrimeweb.com
You can read the article here: http://www.news.com.au/technology/story/0,28348,24908710-5014239,00.html
Ok, I have a problem with this – besides the obvious, (I am sending the link to my son to read, as he doesn’t believe these stupid games are an obsession) – why are children being tried as adults? Earlier this week, I read of the boy who killed his father’s pregnant girlfriend. He is ten and being tried as an adult.
Isn’t there a reason that the age of majority is 18 (or 21 in some countries) Wasn’t that made a law? Wasn’t it that children, yes children, under a certain age are unable to comprehend the finality of their actions, whether that be homicide, or stealing a toy car? Isn’t there different laws to deal with juveniles and their punishment for crimes, even as heinous as murder? I understand, yes this guy is 17, it’s close enough (though that still makes the law grey and not black and white), but a ten year old?
I know there is the emotional side of it, if a boy of ten can kill someone in cold blood then what type of adult would he become, (think Venables and Thompson of the James Bulger murder in the UK in -93) but still should a man be punished for life for what a child has done?
We have all done things as children that we look back at and think (politely) “oops shouldn’t have done that”, but had we been caught (doing something serious) do you think the person you are now should still be paying for that?
I just don’t understand trying children as adults, regardless of the crime.Thank you for visiting Amanda Howard at www.thecrimeweb.com
February 9, 2009
Welcome Back, it's been a while
Sorry for my absence, I have been madly completing my two latest true crime books.
I am pleased to announce that Innocence Lost: A Nation's Deadly History and Predators has been picked up by New Holland Publishers.
Innocence Lost will be released in May, with Predators to follow in July.
Innocence Lost is a tome of Australian crime, from the early colonial times to the most recent cases. They are the crimes that helped shaped the country, and made us look at each other as we wondered who we were. Born on the backs of convicts, have we really moved far from our ancestors? The book questions this.
Predators, I have written with one of Australia's most distinguished criminologists, Dr Paul Wilson. The book examines the predators who rape and murder children. Cases highlighted in the book stretch across the globe, showing that no continent is immune to the most heinous of crimes, child sexual murder.Thank you for visiting Amanda Howard at www.thecrimeweb.com
I am pleased to announce that Innocence Lost: A Nation's Deadly History and Predators has been picked up by New Holland Publishers.
Innocence Lost will be released in May, with Predators to follow in July.
Innocence Lost is a tome of Australian crime, from the early colonial times to the most recent cases. They are the crimes that helped shaped the country, and made us look at each other as we wondered who we were. Born on the backs of convicts, have we really moved far from our ancestors? The book questions this.
Predators, I have written with one of Australia's most distinguished criminologists, Dr Paul Wilson. The book examines the predators who rape and murder children. Cases highlighted in the book stretch across the globe, showing that no continent is immune to the most heinous of crimes, child sexual murder.Thank you for visiting Amanda Howard at www.thecrimeweb.com
