" I don't believe that leaving a tiny baby in a car for more than six hours qualifies as an "accident." Rather, it is an act of "child neglect" of the worst possible kind. As to the tragic death of the teenager who drowned at Berryessa, what was her mother thinking of when she allowed her daughter--far under the legal age to drink--consume alcohol in any quantity? It was also an act of child neglect of the worst possible kind. "

" I don't think you can punish either of those mothers much more than they are punishing themselves. As far as leaving your child in the car; I think our lives are too full, to much stress and pressure. Not an excuse, but maybe a lesson to be learned. As far as allowing your teenager to drink, I think there needs to be some investigation into that case. If it is shown that the adults present allowed the two teens to drink, I believe charges should be brought. But, teens can be sneaky, and could have taken the alcohol without the adults knowing it, and if that is the case I don't believe charges against the adults are warranted. "

" I agree with "Napan since 1965" How can you call either one of them an "accident"? "

" I am absolutely amazed at the people who are still writing in "these people are being punished enough by their loss". Are you kidding me? I'm sure that is true for many people who commit crimes, whether intentional or not. Im sure there is remorse, after the fact, when a life has been lost. Why do you people think that should be the end of it? We have laws for a reason. When innocent children who rely on their parents for care are failed and that results in the child's death, consequences are most certainly in order. Yes, consequences, on top of the guilty that they feel (and rightfully so). My stomach was so sickened when I read in the article that little Maddison's body was scorched blue and red blotches and her little hands clenched up tight. I almost wish The Register hadnt printed that because I cant get that image out of my head. Picture that sight people, and imagine that poor baby sweltering in a hot car for 6 hours, her little hands clenched up tight, until she passed away... see if you still think "oh give the mom a break, it was just an accident". Come on, not hardly. "

" If it's accidental? Hell no. "

" Imagine this scenario: It is a warm spring day, in the early afternoon. You sit down at your favorite couch to nurse you infant child. As the baby is nursing, that warm peace that most of us get when holding an infant falls over you and you drift off to sleep. While sleeping, you slump to one side. But the baby is still nursing and becomes trapped between your body and the cushions. The baby slowly and quietly suffocates beneath you. Are you guilty of manslaughter? Should you not have been more vigilant and made sure you did not fall asleep? Are you a criminal? How about this one: You are out in your back yard with your toddler. You are planting flowers, hanging up laundry, washing the screens, whatever, your yard is fenced with a gate that is latched. The latch is at your shoulder height, and you are over five feet tall. While you are busy with your activity, the toddler finds a way to reach the latch on the gate and opens it. The next thing you hear are screeching tires and a dull thud. Your heart stops. You run to the front of the house to see a smear of end-trails resembling the remains of a dog that had been hit by a car. But on closer inspection you see that this is no dog, it is the remains of your dear child. Are you guilty of neglect? Should you have been more vigilant? Are you a criminal? As a parent myself, I have faced these scenarios in one way or another. Fortunately, none ended as tragically as described here. But they very well could have. Things happen with children in the blink of an eye. Be careful when you judge. You could be next. "

" If your life is too busy to care for your child then perhaps one shouldnt be having children. My life is hectic and has no room for a child and as long as it remains this busy you will not find me bringing a child into this world and once I do, you better rest assure that that child will be number one on my list EVERYDAY !! People who neglect their children and that neglect turns into an "accidental" death should definately be held accountable for their actions. "

" Very well put Skip M. You described very real life scenarios, and there for the grace of God go I "

" Skip, you are comparing apple to oranges. Those scenarios you gave are great examples of true accidents. Scenarios that any parent can envision themselves in. However, in Maddison's case, this mother actually forgot about her child FOR 6 HOURS. Hello.... big difference. Yes, we can all say that we have taken our eyes off our children for a few minutes or so and an accident occurred. But SIX HOURS?? And forgetting that you never got her out of the car in the first place. COME ON... cant you see the difference? "

" I'll bet that most of the parents that have left their children in the car and they died remembered their cell phone, purse, briefcase or latte when they got out of the car. And yes, there but for the grace of God go I, but I should be held accountable for such extreme irresponsibility and neglect. My heart does ache for even an irrefsponsible parent who causes the death of their child. "

" To answer the question, no, a parent should not be found liable for the ACCIDENTAL death of a child if, in fact, it is determined by authorities to be an accident and not negligence brought on by substance abuse or as defined by the law. Now leave these grieving families alone and find something constructive to do with your lives. "

" The sad fact is that this is one of those situations where no good conclusion is available. Nothing will bring this baby back. And it is clear from all posts that everyone grieves for the baby, and many feel or the Ms. Wesley. Parenting has never been an easy job. And in many ways it seems to be getting more difficult. At the dawn of humanity, a parent’s worst fear would have been that other animals could eat their child. Then human became “civilized”, and the fear was that marauding barbarians could raid the village and capture or kill one’s children, or perhaps some unknown plague would take them. Now we are so advanced that all eyes of society are on every decision or indiscretion a parent might make. We don’t allow parents to put child safety seats in the front of the car because the child could be injured in a front-end collision. But at least when the baby is in the front seat, that child is ever present to the driver/parent, and less likely to be forgotten in a rush to meet a schedule. Our lives are way too hectic. And as a society we are oh so eager to pounce when an otherwise innocent mistake turns to tragedy. All I can say is hug your children every chance you get. Lt could be the last chance you get. "

" Accidental death or negligence? Most events reported as accidents are actually incidents. Accidents can be defined as acts of God. Beining struck by lightning is but one example. Someone driving down highway 29 at 80+ MPH with a cellphone glued to their ear is an incident caused by human stupidity. "

" If a teenager wants alcohol, they are going to get it. It's easy in the Lake atmosphere to drink and have Mom know nothing about it. If I know her mom, (we are acquaintances) she would not have put up with it. Charge her? Absolutely not! Not unless you can conclusively prove she provided Erin the alcohol, which, again, I doubt. I ask you to remember being a teen and the things you may have tried to get away with or could have had you tried. I submit that over and over every day this woman is asking herself what she could have done to prevent this tragedy. I know that those around her are, and her horrific grief, the grief of any normal parent who would lose a beloved child, is magnified by the intense guilt associated by those who would say she should have, or could have.... "

" This is unbelivable. I can't believe we even need to think twice about this question. No one ever said being a parent was easy. It is the hardest job I have ever had. My boys are 11 and 14 and not a day goes by that I don't worry about them and their safety. Even when they are not in my care. When they are not with me, It is alway in the back of my mind, where they are what they might be doing. That is my first job as a mom. My second is to go to work to feed them. This ruling is not teaching anyone to be reponsible. I understand that she will be living forever with the memory of her daughter, but why is that enough? It is sad but people just have kids. "

" When you decide to have a child you are deciding to provide responsible care for that child until they can do so for themselves and still even more after that. When that woman made the decision to put her child in the car she had also decided that anything happening to her child is her full responsibility. As a mother i believe there is nothing in the world that would be so important to make me forget my child. I do belive accidents do happen but if it took her 6 hours to realize her child was still in the car there is obviously something wrong. She should definately have to take responsibility wether she says it was an accident or not. Same with the mother at the lake. If she was on a family outing she should've been with her family. I understand it is easy for a child to wonder off and maye do something illegal but it is impossible for a mother to not notice her 14 year old daughter has twice the legal limit of alcohol in her system. Which would make the mother responsible for allowing her daughter in the water knowing she was drinking. That alone would make her accountable for her death. There is nothing that would make these women innocent. "

" SKIPPERT & NAPAMOM: Believe it. Just read what some others have offered. Where did that mentality come from? If some of us challenge them, we are not given place in these blogs. If we do, we are insulted and demeaned without recourse these days. Don't stop speaking your mind. "

" After having read more thoroughly into the responses of everyone else here, I would like to retract my previous statement. Here is my view as it stands as of this moment: There are cases in which parents should be criminally liable for their child's accidental death, and there are some cases in which they should not be held liable. It all depends on the situation and circumstances surrounding the said accidental death. "

" The fault lies with our lawmakers more than parents. After doing some research, I found that deaths of chilren in cars were up over 1,000% since airbags were introduced a few years ago. I hold lawmakers responsible for forcing us to place children where we cannot see them with no thought of the serious consequences of their decision. They obviously forgot the law of unintended consequences. Inventors have solutions to this problem, but no manufacturer is willing to take the liability required to produce them. I ask you to hold your lawmakers personally responsible for these deaths since they obviously forgot about the law of unintended consequences. I pray blessings and comfort for all families who have suffered such a loss. I ask lawmakers to rectify their error and sheild companies offering solutions from the inevitable lawsuits. "

" IT TOTALLY DEPENDS ON THE CIRCUMSTANCE...AND INVESTIGATION THAT WAS PERFORMED. "

" I am just sick that the mother of that poor little baked and blistered dead baby is skating on her death. I have 6 sons...yes 6! They are all grown and alive. I don't care how busy you think you are, how can you forget your baby? I NEVER lost any of mine....poor sad mommy is not a good enough excuse for her to get off. I knew a boy when I was young that ACCIDENTLY hit a drunk that staggered out in front of him while he was riding his bicycle. The drunk fell down and hit his head....oops DEAD! The young man barely 18 years old went to prison for manslaughter. This mother LEFT HER BABY IN THE CAR ALL DAY! I am sure she is sad...too bad. I guess we should just let everyone out of Prison that is in there for manslaughter...it was just an accident ya know. I didn't mean to...I'm really sorry. I hope that she is not considering more children.....what will be her excuse next? "

" I say yes, if a parent caused the accidental death of their own child, yes, they should be criminally liable for that death. Too me it is more about assigning a legal responsibiliy for the death rather than a punishment. Some of these children suffer horrible deaths, and in their death they have a right to a vindication that their loving parent did something wrong to them, accidentally or intentionally. That is the least of what they deserve. To excuse the parent, to tell the parent, it was an accident, you didn't mean it, you will be ok is to ignore the rights of the child. It is not enough that the parent feels responsible, but that others in the community and justice system hold the parents accountable and responsible. Just because we assign a legal or criminal responsiblity doesn't mean there is not forgivness with regards to the parent, it just means that we hold the death of our children up higher in the courts rather than the feelings of the parents over the tragedy. A small child alive can not speak or do for themselves, has even less rights in their own death if the death is caused by their own parents. "Mommy didn't mean to" has more to do with the parent than the child. Assign criminal responsibility to at least validate the child. "

" This is to caedmon, how can you say it's the fault of lawmakers because the child has to be in the backseat? Ever heard of a rearview mirror, or just glancing back every now and then to check on the child. When getting out of a Honda (not a large vehicle) didn't the mother look into the back seat--even when she got in to go home. How many times does a person look into their car upon arrival or getting out? How could she miss her child in the backseat. It's not like she had one of those overly large SUVs. I am just sick to think of that poor baby slowly dying because her mother was irresponsible! Enough already! "

" I am sorry for both of these mothers as this is a loss I can not even imagine. I have two very beautiful girls who I love more than life itself. However should I ever do something intentionally or not to harm them then I should be punished. As a parent it is my responsibility to take care of them and keep them from harm. I can not imagine "forgetting" to take a baby to daycare. Nor can I beleive it wasn't until she got home and then was going to go pick up the baby at daycare that she remembered. You tend to remember these things sooner than that. Sheesh it really does not add up to me. As for underage drinking. As a teenager I spent many many weekends at the lake with my family (and sometimes with just friends). I never dared drink around my parents because I would have been caught and in a lot of trouble. Also I loved to swim and ski and neither can you do when you are intoxicated. A parent should be responsible if they allowed (intentionally or not) their underage child to have alcohol. Is it involuntary manslaughter? I think that is a bit extreme but I am not a lawyer so I do not know what fair punishment would be "

" I lost one of my twin girls when she was 16 mos. from a rare heart disease. We faught through 5 surgerys and alot of suffering befor she passed on Indapendance Day. I feel guilt for having a baby born with a disease and lived to suffer, even though there was nothing I could of done or eaten to prevent it. So the guilt alone of losing a child will condem these moms more than any jury could. "

" Once Again....A sad mommy defence is not a good enough excuse. Disease and defects that cause death has nothing to do with the neglegence that caused poor Maddisons death. This parent is no exception to the rule or exempt from the laws that protect us.....and poor innocent babies. What are we saying here? What precidence is this setting? That it is o.k. to forget your baby and let her die? But you just have to be real sorry? People go to jail for leaving their DOGS in the car on a hot day to die. Hmmmm.... Dog... Baby...Dog...Baby...Dog...Loss of human life...I don't know...I'm really confused. Can someone help me here? Who comes first? "

" I think that the teenager that drowned should have been supervised better. In the article on her death it said that this 13 year old girl's blood alcohol level was over twice the legal limit for adults in CA and that she was on the boat with her mom. And she had carbon monoxide poisoning? Where was the boat owner in all of this and why weren't they keeping an eye on the minors? She must have been sitting by the motor while the boat was idling which is just pure negligence and the mom and boat owner should have to pay some price for this poor little girl's drowning. And, the girl would have probably known that she was getting CO poisoned had she not been drunk. Just a shame, that's all I can say. Nothing will bring this child back but there should be some justice here since this could have all been avoided had the adults been doing their job. "

" JimClark wrote on Oct 22, 2007 2:11 AM: " This issue is also on Story blog. At first I was amused at the excuses made for the "poor" mother. After some 20+ excuses for how the poor mother was the victim, I have to admit, it gets me riled." "

" Stupid neglect is now considered an "accident"...??? If that's the new norm, I'll have to lower my personal standards of responsibility. "

" my sympathy for these moms have decreased the more i read everyones opinions my situation was no accident or due to any type of neglect i felt sorry for them cause i lost a daughter but i did everything! I could and thats what changed my mind, they did not! So they should be punished for not doing everything they possibly could have to prevent their tragic fate. "

" A child depends on the parent to protect them to the best of their ability. Leaving your child to suffocate in the car is not an accident, it is negligence. You clearly cannot control all accidents that your children will get into, but you can take steps to try to prevent them from happening. This kind of absentmindedness is unexcusable, and I am sick of the "she is punishing herself more than anyone could". If I let my daughter suffocate in the car, lock me up and throw away the key, I deserve it! "

" Where is the parents responsibility hear, or is this the norm for young people haveing kids, Give me a break.. They should be punshied, just sad that a child has to die in order for them to the wake up call!! "

" While both of these cases are sad, Im not sure liability on the parents part is should be forgotten. I can almost understand fogiving the mother with the child in the car, but not a mother of a teenager getting drunk right under her nose. Maybe she didnt know her child was drinking, and maybe she didnt know you dont have swimmers in the water with running boats nearby. Isnt there a saying to the effect of.....Ignorance is no excuse for the law? I would hazard a guess that there was negligence on the part of many that day. If no charges are brought against those responsible, you can bet your bottom dollar someone will be filing a civil suit against the people owning/operating the boats. "