What started as a tragically common
report of a missing teenager, turned out to be a far more sinister saga
with a conclusion so bereft of justice, it attests to all but
irrefutable proof of law enforcement impunity. In case after case,
incidents of undeniable police brutality and murder become opportunities
for public victim-blaming; and when no punishment is wrought on the
perpetrators, that blame turns to self-righteous indignation. Because
law enforcement is infallible, right?
A 13-year-old boy was reported
missing the evening of November 5, 2012 in Habersham County Georgia,
but when located the following morning, authorities quickly realized he
wasn’t another disgruntled runaway. Sheriff Joey Terrell discovered
marks and bruising on the boy’s neck and back inconsistent with spending
one night outdoors, and the teen subsequently explained they were the
result of being “hit on” at home. After child welfare advocates
interviewed the boy, authorities were dispatched to arrest his mother,
father, and 17-year-old sister.
“The statement from the parents was that his sister hit him with a ruler and that’s why he left [home],” explained the Sheriff, and so Jamie Lynn Burton was “charged with aggravated assault, cruelty to children in the second degree and terroristic threats and acts.”
Richard Scott Burton, his father, who was 49 at the time, was initially
charged with four counts of cruelty to children in the second degree
and obstruction, and his mother Cheryle Lynn Burton, 50 at the time of
arrest, faced four counts of cruelty to children in the second degree as
well as influencing a witness. All other siblings were then placed in
state custody with the help of the Dept of Children and Family Services.
As more sickening details emerged, it quickly became apparent the
initial charges were wholly inadequate.
“As they went through counseling, they opened up,” Terrell said. Indeed they did.
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