23 May 2008
Ulterior Motives
Posted by Joy Bischoff under: Constitution in Peril; Judaeo-Christian Values Under Attack .
I expect many stories to emerge showing a pattern of legal abuses. The callused way the state of Texas treated these women and children have stunned many of us. I pray the appellate court’s decision will be upheld and the children returned.
FLDS mom, 18, says state wanted her baby
From David Mattingly
CNN
ELDORADO, Texas (CNN) — An 18-year-old who gave birth in state custody after she was incorrectly seized in a raid on a polygamist sect ranch says the state kept her in foster care in an effort to seize her baby.
Pamela Jessop says the state knew how old she was when they raided her home.
Pamela Jessop said authorities knew how old she was when they raided her home on the Yearning for Zion Ranch, which is owned by the Fundamentalist Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.
“I gave ‘em my name. I gave ‘em my age,” Jessop said. “I was honest. Showed ‘em my birth certificate and they acknowledged it, that I was 18.”
The ranch is owned by the FLDS, a Mormon offshoot that practices polygamy. State child protection workers say they have found evidence that girls as young as 13 were forced to marry older men and bear their children.
On Thursday, the Texas Court of Appeals ruled the state should not have removed the children of 38 FLDS mothers because it failed to prove that they were in “imminent danger.” It’s not clear if the decision will affect the children whose mothers were not involved in the case. More than 450 of the sect’s childeren are in state custody.
The state apparently agreed that Jessop was not a minor. A caseworker signed a statement saying Jessop gave her age as 18. Her birth certificate says so, along with a “bishop’s list” collected as evidence from the sect’s records.
There was also no denying she was weeks away from giving birth to her second child. And that, she believes, is why she wound up in foster care.
“They kept me all this time to get my little baby,” she said.
Despite the evidence, the state placed her on a list that said she was a minor.
Texas officials denied that Jessop showed them any documents demonstrating she was 18. They also said she was happy to remain in foster care because she was allowed to stay with her 1-year-old son.
For more than a month, the state said, Jessop never asked to leave.
She said, however, that she asked them why they were keeping her “a hundred times at least.”
When she went into labor, Jessop said what should have been one of the happiest days of her life turned into one of the worst.
“One of the most stressful, feeling like hawks were all around me, trying to snatch my baby the minute I shut my eyes or laid him down,” Jessop recalled.
She said foster care workers were in the delivery room with her. Shortly after his birth, the baby joined her in foster care.
Jessop’s attorney said she sees a pattern among FLDS clients, one in which the state ignores hard evidence and classifies adults as minors.
“They put them on that list so that they could continue to have them in custody so that they could either question them in connection with their investigation without attorneys present or, in the cases of women who are going to deliver their babies while in state custody, so they can get the babies,” said attorney Andrea Sloan.
The state said any disputed minor who proves she is an adult is released.
After Jessop gave birth, she went to court and a judge ruled she was an adult. She was released from state custody. State officials said the hearing was the first time they had seen her birth certificate.
Jessop’s two children remain in foster care, and she has been allowed to remain with the baby.
Jessop stands by her story, and her attorneys say they are considering a federal lawsuit against Texas officials for violating her civil rights.
“They’re dealing with our lives and they’ve treated us like animals,” Jessop said. “I can’t trust a single person now.”
9 Comments so far...
Angela Rogin Says:
23 May 2008 at 8:30 am.
Can you say lawsuit? Texas needs to be taught an expensive lesson. Hit ‘em where it hurts, in the pocketbook so they will be more careful next time. And where was the ACLU on all this? Or do they only protect liberals?
Mac Says:
23 May 2008 at 9:10 am.
I just hope the state doesn’t hold on to the kids while this thing slowly makes its way through the courts. I could end up in the Supreme Court and that could take years. Texas is turning these kids into real victims.
avatar Says:
23 May 2008 at 10:32 am.
Agreed, on all counts. The ACLU, to speak in its defense, has at least made noises about being alarmed by the treatment of these people. We’ll see if it puts its money where its mouth is.
The Texas Court of Appeals decision says the children must be returned within ten days. That gives the authorities a chance to appeal the decision to the Texas Supreme Court. But, if the decision is appealed, I would expect the Court to grant a speedy hearing, given that small children are involved.
Jessop should bring a case in federal court. Even though she has been released, her children are still in custody so she would still have standing, and her own story would get attention.
Benjamin Says:
23 May 2008 at 11:02 am.
Avatar, you certainly seem to have this situation down cold. I agree that is what Jessop should do. The outcome of this case is going to have major repercussions. Hopefully in addition, the FLDS will stop having the younger girls marry. That would be very good.
Matt Says:
23 May 2008 at 12:49 pm.
And here we go…
Texas officials plan to ask court block ruling in sect case
SAN ANGELO, Texas - Texas child welfare authorities plan Friday to appeal a stinging ruling that found they had no right to seize more than 440 children from a polygamist sect’s ranch, a court spokesman said.
Child Protective Services notified the Texas Supreme Court on Friday that “they will file something today,” court spokesman Osler McCarthy said.
The state can ask the high court to block the ruling Thursday by the Third Court of Appeals in Austin. The appellate court found the state failed to show the children were in any immediate danger when they were rounded up from the Yearning For Zion Ranch in Eldorado and sent to foster facilities around the state.
http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20080523/ap_on_re_us/polygamist_retreat
E.E. Says:
23 May 2008 at 1:13 pm.
I have a bad feeling about how long this might take and in the mean time, I don’t see them giving the kids back. I hope I am wrong and it is only because this is such an emotional issue that I am nervous.
SGS Says:
23 May 2008 at 5:48 pm.
Here in Idaho, all public leadership positions are filled with elections. There is no appointment. I am wondering if it is the same for Texas (they are, after all, very independent…) Those FLDS may want to consider getting involved this time around to boot out those district AGs and such!
Cavetrollhead Says:
26 May 2008 at 12:14 am.
The source I have here says the legal age of consent is 17 not eighteen. In many places in the country, it is still 16.
http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/e/ef/Age_of_Consent.png
One might still say that the age for marriage is older, but the state doesn’t recognize these marriages anyway. They weren’t performed by state authority but were private religious ceremonies. So as far as the law is concerned, these are simply consensual sexual relationships and 17 is the age of consent in Texas and not 18. (unless this link that I provide is inaccurate)
Thoughts Roy?
Cavetrollhead Says:
26 May 2008 at 12:25 am.
Interestingly, the age of sexual consent (according to the same chart) in Mexico, is 12. Talk about class of cultures!
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