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THE WORLD HAS GONE MAD
(3/27/2007)
Who is Responsible for Rebecca Riley's Death?
According to the AP article, "Couple plead not guilty in girl's death" by Denise Lavoie, Associated Press Writer (March 27, 2007 - BROCKTON, Mass), the parents of Rebecca Riley are being charged with first degree murder for fatally over-dosing their four year old daughter with prescription drugs prescribed by Dr. Kayoko Kifuji for ADHD and bipolar disorder. The parents, Michael and Carolyn Riley, plead not guilty to the charges. They are being held without bail. This case brings up quite a few questions, in my opinion. It appears that the prosecution is alleging that Carolyn Riley intentionally mislead the psychiatrist with made-up symptoms. It was further stated, "Prosecutors also say that in one year Carolyn Riley got over 200 more pills than should have been prescribed for Rebecca by claiming she either lost or ruined bottles of pills, and by telling a pharmacy she had run out." This all looks very bad on the Riley's, but is Rebecca's death only on their hands? Lavoie reports, "Carolyn Riley "continued to feed Dr. Kifuji fabricated symptoms," Middleton said. He said Rebecca's teachers, a school nurse, mental health therapist and neighbors and adults who lived with the Rileys all told a grand jury that "Rebecca showed none of these behaviors." Another point Lavoie covered, " According to a state police investigator's report, witnesses told police the Rileys gave their daughter large doses of powerful prescription drugs to keep her quiet and sleeping for long periods. The couple's other two children had been diagnosed with the same illnesses and were on almost identical prescriptions." If all these people (teachers, school nurse, mental health therapists, neighbors & adults who lived with the Riley's) were aware that Rebecca showed none of the behaviors attributed to her, but was receiving this "powerful prescription drug", why weren't they reporting it to the social service department in their state? Where was social services? But what about the government doctors that examined Rebecca and said they found no evidence of the bipolar disorder and ADHD that was claimed in applications for SSI? Wouldn't they have been aware of the dangers of giving a small child powerful drugs for something she did not have? Did they contact anyone? Then we have Dr. Kayoko Kifuji allegedly diagnosing a three year old with bipolar disorder? Shouldn't she have taken extreme caution in making such a diagnoses (if it is even possible to do with a child that young)? After all, if Carolyn Riley had two older children diagnosed with like disorders, she could have been so sure that Rebecca also suffered from them that she read it into the actions of what was merely a three year old's behavior for that stage. What happened to that little baby is horrendous! I'm not excusing the parents as though they have no responsibility in what took place. At this point without all the evidence in, I don't know what level of responsibility may rest on their shoulders, but it sure looks like there is plenty of blame to go around. Plenty of mistakes made. And these questions rests prominently in my mind... Could Carolyn and Michael Riley over-dose their child if a doctor, who is supposedly highly trained, hadn't given them a means to the prescriptions it took to do it? Who would best know the dangers of the drugs? The doctor, the nurse, the mental health therapist or the parents? With all the children that the states are grabbing up, or closely supervising, because a parent dared to utilize "spanking" (not beating) as a means of discipline, where were these same people when a child was being over-dosed to death? How can that be explained? I don't think it can be. Who is responsible for Rebecca Riley's death? That list might take a volume all of it's own. After all, this didn't begin with little Rebecca, but hopefully it will be the beginning of the end of such irresponsibility. Maybe she shall be the beacon for much needed reform and a return to common sense and accountability that our society and government agencies are so lacking in. If not, we can only ask ourselves why not!
Carrie Hutchens is a former law enforcement officer and a freelance writer who is active in fighting against the death culture movement and the injustices within the judicial and law enforcement systems.
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