A tragic mistake, not a crime

I think this is the saddest thing I have read since we first started this whole blogging thing. It's sad because, while it describes a single instance of a horrible tragedy, it also mentions that it happens under similar circumstances 15-30 times each year. The tragedy, in this case, is when a parent accidentally kills their own child by leaving them in the car on a hot day. I understand how people would feel angry at the parents the first time they hear it, but when you think about it, this makes no sense. The author began the article with a quick story. She went to work, under a lot of stress, and a little blip in her memory caused her to forget to drop her 2-year-old daughter off at day care. When she arrived at work, her daughter woke up and reminded her to take her to day care. If someone heard this story, the could hardly call the mother a monster. Even with very important things, everyone has a little memory slip-up occasionally. And if it happens to result in a terrible tragedy, the mother is no more terrible of a person than the one whose child woke up and stopped her. However, this article was specifically about the legal results of such a crime. Throughout the article, I was thinking that the only real reason to punish someone for a crime is to stop them from committing it again and set an example for future offenders. Obviously, neither of these things are valid in this case. Nobody chooses to avoid killing their child because they are afraid of legal consequences, and if there is anyone who we can guarantee will not do this in the future, it is the parents who have already done it once. At the end of the article, the author basically repeated exactly what I was thinking, but added in the possible motive of punishment. However, I think the guilt of killing your own child is more than enough punishment than anyone should have to go through. Honestly, I can hardly believe this is a moral debate. Calling these parents murderers and locking them could not possibly accomplish anything. The mother in the story, who killed her 2-year-old son, is a successful veterinarian who runs her own hospital. Taking her off the streets would harm society, not help it. I totally agree with this article, and it a very strong appeal to pathos and logos. I can't imagine how anybody could read this article without feeling angry at what happens to these families, and guilty for any judgement they have made of parents who have made this terrible mistake.