Many years ago, the voters passed a constitutional amendment to create the Juvenile Department of Corrections to handle young offenders. Previously to this, the Dept. of Health & Welfare was handling young offenders and it was a mess. The recidivism was sky high and offenders were having to be corrected by the adult system. Usually by then, it was too late.

The Mental Health Court system in this District has alot of involvement by the same bunch of do gooders from Health & Welfare that coddle offenders. The Idaho Department of Correction has handed alot of the therapy, medication, and monitoring of these offenders over to Health & Welfare teams with well meaning social workers. The problem is, they are too well meaning and don’t have the will to hold people accountable. This is not what social work school teaches them. So, the Court’s go along with this garbage because they too are trying to be understanding of the mentally ill population at the expense of public safety.

Leslie Watson got the benefit of the doubt and avoided major consequences for her actions. I bet if we review her record in 6 months there will be violations that are swept under the rug and she will be given a candy bar by the Mental Health Court Judge. In the end we will all be worse off. I just hope her daughter will be safe through the process and her father will not be trusting of the system to protect her.

Someone want to tell me who is responsible when this poor excuse for a mother wants to adopt a child in 10 years? No record of trying to kill her first child will exist. I’m sure her mental health records will be off limits too. We’ll be reading about another incident in the next state over in 10 years. Bad case disposition all around IMO.

You can bet the father would have his rear end slung up in Boise so fast his head would spin had he done it. Why is it us women can cry and plead the twinkie/PMS/whatever defense and get away with it!? That’s the insanity! Women have got to be just as accountable (yes I am one) and quit the boobing and whining about everything. Being a mom is really hard some days and so is life, but that doesn’t mean we run our kids into a river!!!!!!

I’m not remembering the Paulette Welch case that he talked about, but from the tone it sounds about the same.

This sentence sends a terrible message. If she wasn’t mental would the judge have sent the person to prison, I would hope so. All this sentence does is tell people…you don’t have to be responsible to take your mediciations and if you commit a crime you can get off easy by claiming you didn’t take your medications. This helps her and others like her evade responsibility. The prosecutor was also part of this baloney sentence and should be criticized as well.

So, the next time if someone dies because a mentally ill patient stops taking their meds because they don’t like how it makes them feel do we give them probation too? Just watch. It will happen again and this precedent will be set to allow lawyers to cause defendants to use this excuse defense to avoid responsibility.

Maybe if Watson had hit the Judge’s car while flying out of the Savings Center parking lot by the Courthouse somebody would have taken it more seriously. Honestly, this is an embarrassment just like the 3 year probation sentence received after Paulette Welch’s young son was killed in Bonneville County several years ago.

The Prosecutor’s Office is lazy. The Court is lazy too and intellectually defunct in trying to sell this sentence as a deterrent to Watson or the public at large.

Hopefully her daughter will forget most of the incident, or at least get counseling whenever needed to cope with it.

I think beauty is both a gift and a curse. It depends upon the individual though and how they handle that beauty. Many use it to their advantage and some abuse it and end up in disfunctional relationships.

There is not a handbook for coping with how everyone puts you on a pedestal without knowing your abilities, and the way people treat you superficially.

I’m reminded of the blonde girl’s remarks of guys staring at her, from that movie American Beauty. Recall Marilyn Monroe’s struggles.

Is incredible beauty a gift or curse in modern American times?

That will be an interesting trial to watch.

I think it will come down to if she knew what she was doing, or if she was temporarily insane?

They look very handsome, and wholesome. This makes me more proud to be a teacher, knowing that young me can still turn out to be this good! I would love to have them speak to my science class! Please pass on my email at
gloriaching@hotmail.com

Terek Beckman you are the MAN!!!