How?

As I've said I'm a fan of Dr. Phil. I like his no nonsense, no excuses way of approaching a situation. One of this week's episodes was called Crisis In Family Court.

Just earlier this year a young mother tried desperately to protect her son by asking the court to limit her ex's contact with the child to supervised visits. She supplied the judge with detailed evidence that this man was threatening to kill their nine month old baby boy and then himself. There were e-mails and text messages both to the young mother and her mother.

A judge refused to help her. Saying they needed to work it out themselves and in one of the four hearings, actually accused her of fabricating everything. He ordered that the current custody and visitation agreement be upheld forcing this mother to hand her precious baby over to a man who had threatened to kill him.

Ten days after their last day in court her ex held to his word. He shot and killed his son and then, taking the cowards way out, his own. How? HOW does one do that to his own flesh and blood? How does ANYONE do that to a nine month old baby boy????? How do you look into the face of a child, YOUR child, point a gun at them and pull the trigger??? It's unfathomable to me.

And apparently this sort of thing happens more often than we know. During the show they spoke to another mother who's ex-husband had drugged and the killed their 9 and 7 year old sons during a court ordered visit. They listed several other cases as well. All over the country.

In each case the courts had refused to intervene. I'm sorry. WHAT???

This mother had PROOF her ex was making these threats. Numerous pieces of evidence! And yet a judge, bound to uphold the law and ultimately protect the innocent, dismissed these??? The consensus among some of his peers who have reviewed the case feel the Judge never looked at any of the evidence. He couldn't have and ruled the way he did.

The question that comes to my mind immediately... Is this Judge criminally responsible for the death of this baby? You're damn right he is. It makes me so mad when I hear stories like this! The kind of mad that you feel in the pit of your stomach. The kind of mad that makes you want to lash out at someone. I want five minutes alone with this Judge. May he live with overwhelming guilt for the rest of his miserable life.