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Filed under: Opinions
These days, given that I'm married and have three kids, I try to keep my violent nature suppressed. Most of the time, I succeed pretty well, but every once in a while I come across a story that makes me want to dig out the electric carving knife and start slicing off body parts. This, sadly, is one such story.Tammy Smith, a forty-three-year-old mother from West Virginia, got angry at her six-year-old daughter when the girl tripped and fell. Instead of comforting the girl and checking for injuries, Smith decided to use her cigarette to burn the word "Wimp" into her daughter's neck. According to Detective Shawn Allman, "The 'i' was even dotted."
Why she would get upset at her daughter for falling down I can't even imagine. Perhaps the girl, having skinned her knee or banged her arm, began to cry. Maybe she was just scared. Whatever the case, and even if her reaction was more than the injury warranted, there is simply no excuse for hurting the girl further, let alone scarring her for life.
Luckily, a teacher saw the scar and got in touch with social services. The police were called in and the girl was taken into protective custody; she will be placed in foster care. Her mother, meanwhile, has been arrested and faces ten felony charges, including felony child abuse and malicious assault. If convicted, she could be sentenced to a maximum of only seventy-five years in prison.
If you ask me, she would be getting off very lightly with such a sentence. If I were tasked with meting out her punishment, seventy-five years in prison would seem like winning the lottery.
| With enough counseling and education, she could get her daughter back | |
|---|---|
| Yes, under supervision, but she should never be able to regain custody | |
| No, she should be locked up for life and never see anyone, let alone her daughter | |
| The girl shouldn't even have to know where the body is buried. |
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ReaderComments (Page 1 of 7)
11-25-2008 @ 4:00PM
LS said...wow. words fail me. I'm with you, Roger... some punishments just aren't enough.
I just went and hugged my son. I could not even imagine. My heart breaks a little every time he gets hurt, even as I'm brushing him off, saying, "You're ok, get back in the game".
Reply
11-26-2008 @ 9:58PM
cheryl said...I think before they lock her up they should do the same thing to her. Let her truly understand not only the physical pain she caused her very own child, but also the scars that will last a life time physically and mentally.... what an animal......
I am sure that in prison this woman will be punished if not killed for her crime against this child.....and she will have deserved it...counseling cannot fix what is broken in this persons heart and soul...
11-26-2008 @ 10:32PM
car said...So....
Am I the only one left wondering ......
How long did this take????? It had to be quite a while, where were the neighbors while the child screamed in pain????? Who restrained the child while the mother(satan) did this??? No one is going to just sit there and take this pain!!!!!
I only hope that the mother did this in an area that she can hide it for the rest of her life or a plastic surgeon steps forward how will work wonders so she does not live with this for life!!!!
11-27-2008 @ 2:48AM
Lou said...Besides a broken heart, doesn't it make you want to throw your arms around every child who is being hurt? How sad that we can't personally help them all. I am almost 45, and I have a 2 year old son that was not planned. But he is here because of me, and I would never let any harm come to him. Children are a gift, and if you really feel that you aren't up to it, then let them be a gift to someone who will care for them and love them!!! It's tough being a parent no matter how old you are. But, how can we begin to prevent (not just punish) an animal like this from harming their child? She makes me sick to my stomach, I would also like to see her "branded" with a very long list of adjectives that describes her inhumanity. Maybe she could have her mullett shaved and they could brand her head where her brain should be. Sadly, every time I see a story like this, I go to bed thinking about the thousands of other children who are being abused, or murdered that we don't even hear about. Any realistic ideas out there from anyone?
11-27-2008 @ 5:59AM
Jason said...This is sick !!! That woman is out of her freaking mind to burn her own child with a cigeratte. What has todays society come to when we let monsters like this roam the streets. 75 years is nothing for what this woman did in fact she will prob get like what 6 and be out on good behaviour. People like this should have an eye for an eye type of punishment or better yet simply shot. I feel so bad for the little girl and what this woman did sickens me. I myself am not a father yet but i do have little girls in my family which i adore. Children are one of Gods greatest gifts and should be treated as such by all adults.
11-25-2008 @ 5:07PM
Bee said...I think she should get 75 years, and during her incarceration have "I am a supremely, unbelievably, inconceivably, horribly crappy mother" burned onto her body, daily.
Reply
11-26-2008 @ 8:58PM
senge said...I agree whole heartedly, people make me sick!
11-25-2008 @ 6:05PM
Wolfster said...This story is just stunning. I cannot even imagine torturing one's own little child. Has anyone thought about how long she had to take, and how careful to keep the cigerette lit, to carve the entire word? What a monster. If I were punishing this woman, it would be very physically painful for her, I can tell you that. I hope some sort of dermabrasion or something can remove this branding. I would hate for this girl to be the victim of schoolyard taunts on top of everything else.
Reply
11-25-2008 @ 8:13PM
Michelle said...Oh my goodness...I have a knot in my stomach & am actually speechless...poor poor baby girl. Mom is a monster!
Reply
11-25-2008 @ 10:42PM
nic said...i am sure after a number of years in foster care, a branding by mom will be the least painful of her memories
Reply
11-26-2008 @ 12:22PM
Jen said...Exactly, that could not have been the only time that that little girl was abused.
But to repeatedly burn a cigarette into your own child, enough to write an entire word.. would probably need a good amount of time, a number of re-lightings of said cigarette and probably holding the child down.
My stomach turns when I read and hear such stories. There are some sadistic people out there and she'd better get all 75 years.
11-26-2008 @ 8:32PM
Carol said...Not sure how much experience you have with foster care, but while there are some bad homes (and these are the only ones you hear about) there are also many great foster homes that only want to help. I have worked with foster children and have had the experience of seeing some children grow up into amazing adults, a big reason for that was their foster parents parenting skills.
11-26-2008 @ 4:07AM
ninainindia said...If this woman did something like this I am almost certain this was not the first time she hurt her child. This is something only very deranged people do, not an average kind mom. It makes me shiver to think of what that child must have endured.
Reply
11-26-2008 @ 1:27PM
Joy said...I'm with you on this one Roger. How pitifully sad.
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11-26-2008 @ 8:19PM
JFirearrow said...Par for the course really. Im sure thats just one of the horrific things the bitch has done over the years. As a Foster parent and firefighter for 25 years I have seen this kind of thing many times. Im sure mommie suffered from the BS disease of alchoholism and drug abuse. Weak selfish scum.
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11-26-2008 @ 11:01PM
jwn said...i agree completely. substance abuse is no defense.
11-26-2008 @ 8:21PM
Dot said...LS, you are a good mom. I liked your note.
I feel the same about my daughter; and she's now in her 20's!
And now I've moved on with my grandson, those same feelings.
I feel terrible for this little girl. I hope she can grow up okay and not be scarred by memories of abuse.
Reply
11-26-2008 @ 8:28PM
ron said...Maybe someone should burn the words "sadistic bitch" on the "mom's" forehead!!
Reply
11-27-2008 @ 1:13AM
Andy said...I live in WV and would bail her out to be the one to do it.
11-27-2008 @ 1:47AM
Dot said...Ron, I firmly agree with you. How terribly mean can a mother actually be, to do such a thing to her little girl??? The other women in the prison she will be in, no matter what they have done, will take care of her in a way that is not good at all. I am sure they will make the bitch so damn sorry for what she has done, over and over again. Dottie