Girl Testifies of Nightmare Abuse
DOG3
Girl Testifies of Nightmare Abuse
.c The Associated Press
By DAWN FALLIK
TOWSON, Md. (AP) - The sister of a 9-year-old girl who police say was starved
to death told jurors today of constant abuse they both suffered at home, then
broke down and stormed out of the courtroom under defense cross-examination.
The 16-year-old sister of Rita Fisher, the 9-year-old who died last June,
testified in Baltimore County Circuit Court that she never told anyone about
the abuse because she feared the older family members would have hurt her even
more.
Rita's mother, Mary Utley; her 21-year-old sister, Rose Fisher, and Rose's
22-year-old boyfriend, Frank Scarpola, are charged with first-degree murder in
Rita's death, and also with abusing the other girl. Scarpola has also been
accused of sexually assaulting the teen-ager. The Associated Press is
withholding her name to protect her identity.
Rita's sister, who now lives with a foster family, testified that the night
before Rita died, Scarpola tied Rita up with shoelaces.
``She kept yelling and Frank hit her and she wouldn't be quiet, so Frank taped
her mouth shut,'' the girl testified.
The next morning, she said, Rita was blue.
About 20 minutes into her testimony, she began shaking and crying and a recess
was called. Later, under cross-examination by a defense attorney, she became
upset and left the room. The question that surprised and upset the girl
referred to an individual whose role in the case was not immediately clear.
Attorneys for the defense attacked the testimony of Rita's sister on the
trial's opening day Wednesday, even before she took the stand.
``You will have to swallow a bitter pill, to understand that just because this
is a hurt, suffering, innocent victim does not mean that everything she says
... is true and accurate,'' said Larry Polen, attorney for Rosemary Fisher.
Scarpola's attorney insisted that his client was placed in a situation he could
not control, and attorneys for all three pointed fingers at one another.
In her opening statement Wednesday, state's attorney Ann Brobst told jurors
that for days on end, Rita and her sister were locked in the ``hole,'' a tiny,
damp bathroom in the basement of their family's Pikesville house. It was bolted
from the outside and the light bulb had been removed.
``It was so small that one would sit on the toilet and the other would try and
fit on the floor,'' she said.
The last week Rita was alive, Brobst said, she and her sister were locked in a
bedroom 24 hours a day, and each was given a cup of water a day to drink. At
death, Rita weighed just 47 pounds, she said. Jurors could barely look at
photos that showed Rita's thin, bruised body.
The sister was taken into the custody of social service workers and was treated
in a psychiatric hospital.
AP-NY-04-16-98 1232EDT
------------------- In taberna mori
Ut sint vina proxima
Morientis ori.
-- The Archpoet, 12th Century
Joe1orbit
Hello,
Thank you for making this very timely child torture/murder post. You beat me
to the punch, in terms of speedy posting. Below are two more detailed articles
that gives us an in-depth account of yesterday's opening statements in the
torture-murder of nine year old Rita Denise Fisher, a slave that her entire
family, Mommy, live-in boyfriend, and older sister, conspired and actively
participated in an ongoing and relentless campaign of abuse and torture,
culminating in death.
All three people, slave Rita's Mommy, her live-in lover, and her 21 year old
sister are all on trial, together, charged with first degree murder and child
abuse, facing the possibility of Life in prison if convicted. We get some
nicely gruesome details, that simply indicate what can be EXPECTED to occur in
a society where newborn babies are handed over, unchallenged, with no Parental
Competency Testing, to their biological creators. Our slave was starved,
beaten, and locked in a pitch-dark dungeon in the basement. She was kept in the
basement dungeon for days on end, sometimes alone, other times with her now 16
year old sister. Meanwhile her even older sister, aged 21, and the live-in
lover of her Mommy would yell at the Mommy: "Don't you dare give those girls
anything to eat. Naturally, Mommy Mary obeyed, and starved Rita chronically. At
age 9, when she died in June of last year, she weighed 47 pounds.
We get some of the opening statement that the prosecutor made to the jury
yesterday, in which he outlined exactly what types of abuse and torture slave
Rita was subjected to. On the night that Rita finally died, she was bound and
gagged, not merely locked in the basement dungeon.
All three defendents have their own lawyer, and as you could expect, each of
the three is trying to blame the others, in order to try and avoid getting
convicted of the first degree murder charge. The boyfriend of Mommy Mary
proclaims himself to have done a "lousy job" of "disciplining the two slaves,
but insists that he loved them both and meant no harm. Prosecutors however say
that he initiated most of the abuse, while Mommy Mary and the 21 year old
sister stood by passively and allowed Rita and her older sister to be tortured
and starved.
Live-in lover Frank beat the older girl with a flashlight because she was
helping little Rita with her homework, then he poured poured wine into the open
& bleeding wound, & used a household needle and thread to stitch it up. When
now 16 year old Georgia unsuccessfully tried to kill herself, to escape the
torment she and her younger sister were being subjected to, step-daddy Frank
gave her a knife and told her to "do a better job next time". Mommy Mary and
the 21 year old sister were fully aware of these incidents, as well as the
chronic starvation and imprisonment in the basement dungeon, and did nothing to
try and help the two slaves. They were, after all, worthless and subhuman
entities, according to the rules of how your society operates.
Stepdaddy Frank was a fitness buff, owned boxing gloves, and had a pubag down
in the basement. But sometimes he got tired of hitting the inanimate punching
bag, and so he turned to his two young human slaves, assaulting them in the
style of a boxer, while wearing boxing gloves. He also delivered karate kicks
to them. Since Rita was only 7-9 years old, and very short, the karate kicks
caught her right in the HEAD. Older sister Georgia was a little luckier, and
most often got kicked in the chest.
Mommy Mary's lawyer tells us that she was "terrorized" by live-in lover
Frank, and didn't know how to save her slaves from abuse and torture. She
"quietly" tried to contact child welfare authorities, who of course did nothing
and allowed this torture and the eventual murder of 9 year old Rita to occur.
She was herself abused as a child, and so was stepdaddy Frank, of course, even
if these articles make no claim that he was abused. Human being reflect their
Life Experiences. Stepdaddy Frank tortured his children because he himself was
severely traumatized as a child. Mommy Mary felt powerless to do anything
because her society first taught her as a child that she was a worthless slave,
and then taught her as an adult that she is a female, and must be subservient
to all males in all relationships that she forms.
During the trial, stepDaddy Frank is not showing much emotion at all. None of
the three defendents are. But he is clutching a bible on his lap. How nice, the
insane god myth makes an appearance.
Slave Rita spent the last night of her life tied ankle and wrist to
furniture, in her locked bedroom. At some point she cried out, with the feeble
stregth of a 47 pound 9 year old, she had been picking at a wound on her shin,
that was bleeding, caused by a vicious kick that stepDaddy Frank had delivered.
The cries angered our Slaveowner, so stepDaddy Frank taped her mouth shut. The
next morning, she was dead. Older sister Georgia, who had spent the night
locked in the same tiny room, lay down beside Rita, as the adults tried to
bring the slave back to life, fearing the criminal consequences of her death.
But it was too late. Slave Rita was dead.
Her body had 70 different injuries upon it, including 5 broken ribs. rope
marks covered her wrists, ankles, and chest. Police were called to the
hospital, after the dead slave Rita was brought in, and as they drove the
family to the police station, Mommy Mary and the 21 year old sister were joking
and laughing about the helpless 9 year old that they had caused and allowed to
be murdered. They also talked about their favorite restaurants, as they drove
past them, in the police car, and how good the food was, less than 2 days after
47 pound Rita had been murdered, in part by chronic starvation.
16 year old Georgia, the survivor of the 2 abused girls, testified in court
yesterday during the trial, and we get some details on her testimony in the
second news article below.
A teacher confims that Rita STOLE food from her classmates at the elementary
school she attended. She scavenged for food, earing things that had fallen on
the floor, in order to try and stay alive. Photos were taken at the school,
showing slave Rita with bruises on her face, in January of 1997. Nothing was
done by your pathetic society to save this tortured slave, and 5-6 months later
she was dead. Murdered through the COMBINED efforts of her Mommy, her 21 year
old sister, and her Mommy's live-in lover. But MOST of all, she was murdered by
YOUR society. YOUR society allowed, enabled, and facilitated this murder, and
is far more GUILTY of having caused Rita's death than any or all of the three
defendents.
Take care, JOE
The following appears courtesy of the 4/16/98 online edition of The Baltimore
Sun newspaper:
Abuse killing trial opens
Prosecution alleges 3 in Pikesville family `tortured' girl, 9; 70 injuries
found; Mother, older sister, live-in boyfriend face life in prison
------------------------------------------------------------------------
By Jay Apperson
Sun Staff
Nine-year-old Rita Denise Fisher endured months of torture -- including long
spells in a pitch-dark, makeshift dungeon and regular turns as a human punching
bag -- before dying hungry and bruised last year, a Baltimore County prosecutor
said as the murder trial in the girl's death began yesterday.
"It's damp, it's dirty, it's dank and there is no light," prosecutor S. Ann
Brobst said, describing the tiny basement bathroom where she said Rita and an
older sister, Georgia, were imprisoned for days on end. As the girls cowered in
the room the family called "the hole," they heard another sister and her
boyfriend yelling, "Don't you give those girls anything to eat," the prosecutor
said.
Brobst's descriptions of abuse in the Pikesville household -- the most detailed
and gruesome since Rita's June 25 death -- came during opening statements in
what is expected to be a two-week trial in Baltimore County Circuit Court.
The girl's mother, Mary E. Utley, 50, Rita's 21-year-old sister, Rose Mary
Fisher, and Rose Mary's 22-year-old, live-in boyfriend, Frank E. Scarpola Jr.,
are all charged with first-degree murder and child abuse. They face life in
prison, but not the death penalty.
For months, the circumstances of Rita's death have been cited by government
officials seeking changes in the way authorities deal with troubled families.
Now, prosecutors are seeking to fix the blame for the girl's death on those who
should have been giving care.
"Georgia and Rita Fisher were abused, they were starved, they were beaten and
Rita was killed by the very people on this Earth who should have nourished
them, nurtured them and protected them: their family," said Brobst.
She said a pattern of beating and neglect -- culminating in a final night when
Rita was bound and gagged -- led to the girl's death.
Inept at child rearing
Lawyers for each of the defendants sought to shift blame to the others, or to
portray their clients as well-intentioned but inept at raising children.Arthur
M. Frank, Scarpola's lawyer, told the jury that his client "did a lousy job"
when given the duties of disciplining the younger girls, but meant no harm.
"Frank loved the children. He really did," the lawyer added.
The surviving eyewitness to all this, 16-year-old Georgia, is expected to offer
key testimony at the trial. She has been in foster care since Rita's death.
Brobst said Georgia will tell how Scarpola came into the household two years
and began to batter the children. She said the girl will tell how her mother
and older sister did nothing to stop the beatings, how they even seemed to
approve.
The prosecutor said Scarpola, angry that Georgia was helping Rita with her
homework, once used a heavy flashlight to split open the back of Georgia's
head. He then shaved a patch of her hair, poured wine into the wound and used
household needle-and-thread to suture the gash, Brobst said.
When Georgia failed at a suicide attempt, Scarpola offered her a knife, and
told her, "If you're going to kill yourself, do it right," the prosecutor said.
Human punching bags
As jurors entered the courtroom for the start of the trial, they saw, on the
trial table, two red boxing gloves. Brobst said Scarpola, a stocky "fitness
buff'," used the gloves on a basement punching bag. But, she said, he sometimes
worked out on the girls instead. He punched them and delivered "karate kicks"
to their chests, she said.
Rita was shorter. She got hit in the head, Brobst said.
All this was explained, with photographs, to a jury of seven men and five
women. The panel was selected from a pool of 300 candidates, one of the largest
ever in Baltimore County.
Defense lawyers told the jurors to carefully consider Georgia's testimony,
because she has a history of being "emotionally disturbed," and because she has
given authorities inconsistent versions of events.
Lawyers for Rose Mary Fisher and the victim's mother told jurors that Scarpola
moved in and helped organize the household, but slowly gained control of
virtually every aspect of family life.
Gary Gilkey, Utley's lawyer, said Scarpola ordered her to bed at 10 p.m.
nightly. Concerned about his actions, Utley tried to quietly enlist the help of
social workers before her daughter died, the lawyer said.
Larry Polen, Rose Mary Fisher's lawyer, told the jury that his client also is
an abuse victim, in her case by a stepfather. He said she left home two years
ago but returned at Georgia's urgings.
"She worked hard, fought against the odds and tried to escape the misery, then
came back and tried to help," Polen said.
Scarpola's lawyer said social workers mishandled the case. He showed the jury a
copy of a social worker's report that said Scarpola brought love and structure
to the family, but was overwhelmed by the demands of the girls and their
learning disabilities and physical problems.
Little outward emotion
At one point during yesterday's court session, Rose Mary Fisher seemed to be
dabbing away tears. Otherwise, the three co-defendants showed little outward
emotion.
With a paperback edition of the Bible in his lap, Scarpola sat stoicly -- even
when Brobst, the prosecutor, described the last night of Rita's life.
Rita spent that night locked in her bedroom, with her ankles and wrist bound to
furniture, the prosecutor said. When she whimpered, Scarpola taped her mouth
closed, she said.
By the next day, Rita was dead. She weighed 47 pounds, and showed signs of
malnutrition and dehydration. She had over 70 injuries on her body, including
five broken ribs. Her chest, wrists and ankles bore the marks of restraining
cords.
Homicide detectives went to the hospital, and brought the family members to the
police station for questioning.
Brobst said that as they drove past an all-you-can-eat restaurant, Mary Utley
and Rose Mary Fisher joked about Rita.
"They said she loved the chicken there," the prosecutor said. "They were
cackling."
Originally published on Apr 16 1998
--------------------------------------------------------
The following appears courtesy of the 4/17/98 online edition of The Baltimore
Sun newspaper:
Sister of dead girl tells jury of blows, starvation, isolation
Testimony reduces spectators to tears in Towson courtroom
She held steady for the first half-hour, describing in a soft, flat mumble the
beatings and threats and her little sister's death.
Finally, 16-year-old Georgia Fisher could no longer contain her pain.
"I was afraid because my mom and sister said if I said anything they would hurt
me," Georgia said, testifying in the murder trial in the death of her
9-year-old sister, Rita Denise Fisher.
With that, Georgia uttered a high-pitched whimper, brought a hand to her face
and began to cry.
She wasn't alone. Spectators in the Baltimore County Circuit courtroom -- and
even the defendants in the case -- brushed away tears as the teen-ager
testified about the months of neglect and abuse that she and her sister endured
before Rita died in June.
Georgia's and Rita's mother, Mary E. Utley, 50; their 21-year-old sister, Rose
Mary Fisher; and Rose's 22-year-old live-in boyfriend, Frank E. Scarpola Jr.,
are all charged with first-degree murder and child abuse.
If convicted, they face life in prison.
Georgia is the key witness against them.
Yesterday -- even as the defendants continued to try to shift blame for the
girl's death -- Georgia told the seven-man, five-woman jury that all three
abused her and her sister.
She described a home life in which she and Rita were routinely punched, kicked
and locked away without food -- and were told to tell no one.
She said punishment might bring the destruction of a prized toy, or it might
mean taking the pet cat to the pound.
She described her final words of support to her dying sister.
She brought the courtroom to silence. She brought the trial to a brief halt
when she broke down in tears.
Later, as she became frustrated with a defense lawyer's questions, she snapped
a curse word and angrily marched out of the courtroom.
Prosecutors are trying to show that the three defendants' pattern of abuse
killed Rita, who was malnourished and dehydrated when she died June 25.
The girl weighed 47 pounds and showed evidence of cracked ribs and dozens of
other injuries.
An aide at Winand Elementary School, where Rita was a special education
student, said the girl was so hungry last spring that she stole other students'
food.
Aide Mary Friedman said the girl scavenged for food, picking up a sandwich that
had fallen from a locker. Friedman called Rita "my little rag-muffin," an
unkempt but sweet and happy child who grew despondent in her last months of
life.
Prosecutors showed the jury pictures taken when Rita showed up at school in
January 1997 with bruises on her face.
To demonstrate abuse, prosecutors called Georgia to the witness stand shortly
before 10 a.m. yesterday.
The teen, who has been in foster care since her sister's death, hung her head
as she entered the courtroom. Her glasses seemed to hide her eyes.
As she testified, she spoke and moved slowly, possibly because of medication
she said she is taking.
One day, she said, Scarpola demolished a dollhouse Georgia had made for Rita.
She testified that the three defendants told them they were sending the girls
to an institution, where they would need no toys.
Georgia's voice wavered, and she explained her understanding of that threat:
"We would go someplace where we would be until we were 20."
She said Scarpola assigned her chores and, if they weren't done to his liking,
beat her with a yardstick she'd made in school.
And she described days locked in a small basement bathroom with Rita. There,
the two would take turns using the toilet for a chair, while they wondered when
they might get something to eat.
"Do you know how often you were fed down there?" prosecutor S. Ann Brobst asked
the girl.
Georgia answered in a monotone: "Once in a blue moon."
Defense lawyers asked her about statements she had made to detectives and
social workers, looking for contradictions that might render her testimony
unreliable. Under questioning from Utley's lawyer, she acknowledged telling a
therapist that she so disliked her mother she would "say things" to get her
mother into trouble.
She said that Scarpola helped her with schoolwork and taught Rita basic
hygiene. She said he bought them toys and took them to the movies and out to
eat.
Scarpola's lawyer, Arthur M. Frank, asked, "Rita liked Frank for a lot of the
nice things he did, isn't that right?"
"I'm not sure," Georgia answered.
When a lawyer for Rose Fisher asked about conversations Georgia had with a
social worker, the teen-ager suddenly grew angry.
"I'm leaving this place," Georgia said. She left the courtroom. When she
returned 15 minutes later, she meekly apologized to Judge Dana Mark Levitz.
At one point in her testimony, Georgia described the last night of Rita's life.
She said Scarpola had kicked Rita in the chin and had become angry because the
girl was picking at the bleeding wound.
He used shoelaces to bind the girl's wrists and ankles to bedroom furniture,
Georgia said. When Rita yelled that she had to go to the bathroom, Scarpola
taped her mouth shut, Georgia said.
She said she briefly untied Rita, but then bound her again so they wouldn't be
in more trouble. By the next day, Rita was limp and "blue," Georgia said.
As family members tried to revive Rita, Georgia lay beside her.
Georgia said she told her sister: "Hang in there."
Originally published on Apr 17 1998
PTWJB
I live in the Baltimore area and have read a great deal aboout this case. I
also have two young daughters about the age of the Victim.
This is not an "abuse" case - this is murder in the most henious manner, slowly
starving a child to death while beating her and tormenting her while she was
denied all human requirements for life. The fact that her 16 year old sister
survived was more luck than design.
The absolute shame of all this is that the three pond scum who did this do not
face the death penalty - their barbarity does not meet Maryland's very
limited definition of what constitutes a capital offense.
NanLeeCro
>Subject: Re: Girl Testifies of Nightmare Abuse
>From: joe1...@aol.com (Joe1orbit)
>Date: Fri, Apr 17, 1998 09:26 EDT
(respectfully snipped - Joe's narrative/editorial)
> A teacher confims that Rita STOLE food from her >classmates at the elementary
school she attended. She >scavenged for food, earing things that had fallen on
>the floor, in order to try and stay alive. Photos were >taken at the school,
showing slave Rita with bruises >on her face, in January of 1997. Nothing was
>done by your pathetic society to save this tortured >slave, and 5-6 months
later she was dead. Murdered >through the COMBINED efforts of her Mommy, her
>21 year old sister, and her Mommy's live-in lover. But >MOST of all, she was
murdered by
>YOUR society. YOUR society allowed, enabled, and >facilitated this murder, and
is far more GUILTY of >having caused Rita's death than any or all of the three
>defendents.
>
What about that STUPID GODDAMN teacher?
*She is guilty too*. She SAW the child's condition and saw the child eating
off the floor and DID NOTHING?
NOTHING? NOTHING? NO INTERVENTION?
GOD! Character doesn't count.... from Nan
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Behavior is the mirror in which everyone displays his true image...Goethe
DOG3
In article <199804171328...@ladder01.news.aol.com>, pt...@aol.com
(PTWJB) writes:
>
>I live in the Baltimore area and have read a great deal aboout this case. I
>also have two young daughters about the age of the Victim.
>
>This is not an "abuse" case - this is murder in the most henious manner,
>slowly
>starving a child to death while beating her and tormenting her while she was
>denied all human requirements for life. The fact that her 16 year old sister
>survived was more luck than design.
>
I am trying to find more info on this case. If you find anything will you
please post or forward it to me?
Thanks,
Michael
DOG3
In article <199804171326...@ladder01.news.aol.com>, joe1...@aol.com
(Joe1orbit) writes:
>>snip interesting followup articles<<
>An aide at Winand Elementary School, where Rita was a special education
>student, said the girl was so hungry last spring that she stole other
>students'
>food.
>
>Aide Mary Friedman said the girl scavenged for food, picking up a sandwich
>that
>had fallen from a locker. Friedman called Rita "my little rag-muffin," an
>unkempt but sweet and happy child who grew despondent in her last months of
>life.
>
>Prosecutors showed the jury pictures taken when Rita showed up at school in
>January 1997 with bruises on her face.
>
Thanks for the followups Joe. The above quoted from your post, is the one part
of this horrendous trial that literally sickens me. IMO little miss aide Mary
Friedman and the rest of the school brass should have their asses prosecuted.
They obvously saw the abuse and starvation but there is not one word they tried
to intervene. Calling the victim "my little rag-muffin" then sending her home
to die. Makes my blood boil.
Joe1orbit
>
nanl...@aol.com (NanLeeCro) Wrote:
>(respectfully snipped - Joe's narrative/editorial)
Joe1...@aol.com Wrote:
>> A teacher confims that Rita STOLE food from her >classmates at the
>elementary
>school she attended. She >scavenged for food, earing things that had fallen
>on
>>the floor, in order to try and stay alive. Photos were >taken at the school,
>
>showing slave Rita with bruises >on her face, in January of 1997. Nothing was
>>done by your pathetic society to save this tortured >slave, and 5-6 months
>later she was dead. Murdered >through the COMBINED efforts of her Mommy, her
>>21 year old sister, and her Mommy's live-in lover. But >MOST of all, she was
>murdered by
>>YOUR society. YOUR society allowed, enabled, and >facilitated this murder,
>and
>is far more GUILTY of >having caused Rita's death than any or all of the
>three
>>defendents.
>What about that STUPID GODDAMN teacher?
>*She is guilty too*.
Hello Nan,
I agree. She is just as guilty as the parents, but still LESS guilty than her
society. She KNEW that her society does not care about the suffering or fate of
any child. She chose to do nothing because she probably KNEW that child welfare
authorities had already been informed about the suffering of this helpless
slave. She knew that she was POWERLESS to help a child, a child that is the
legal property of her biological creator, no matter how abusive and inferior
that creator is. And so she shrugged her shoulders and did nothing. She acted
as she was taught to act, by her society.
> She SAW the child's condition and saw the child eating
>off the floor and DID NOTHING?
>NOTHING? NOTHING? NO INTERVENTION?
She saw little Rita as a piece of property. Even if she liked Rita, and
wanted to help her, she simply did not place enough WORTH upon the health,
safety, or life of Rita, to be sufficiently motivated to try and actively help
the child/slave.
>GOD!
.............Does not exist. :)
> Character doesn't count.... from Nan
Here we see the TRUE character of the human race, in full bloom. Rita's
stepDaddy is the primary abuser. Her Mommy is 100% aware of ALL the abuse and
chooses to do nothing. Her oldest sister, age 21, is also living in the home
and fully aware of the abuse, and chooses to do nothing. CPS workers, police,
and a teacher are ALL fully aware that this little girl is trapped, enslaved to
a profoundly abuse Family Unit. They ALL choose to do nothing, in terms of
RESCUING little Rita. Why? Because society itself views Rita as a subhuman
entity, with no civil or human rights. A piece of property owned by the adults
in her Family Unit. She was treated as being worthless by all who were in a
position to help her, because all of those people were TAUGHT that Rita was
indeed worthless.
Take care, JOE
Joe1orbit
In article <199804171326...@ladder01.news.aol.com>,
>joe1...@aol.com
>(Joe1orbit) writes:
>
>>>snip interesting followup articles<<
>>An aide at Winand Elementary School, where Rita was a special education
>>student, said the girl was so hungry last spring that she stole other
>>students'
>>food.
>>
>>Aide Mary Friedman said the girl scavenged for food, picking up a sandwich
>>that
>>had fallen from a locker. Friedman called Rita "my little rag-muffin," an
>>unkempt but sweet and happy child who grew despondent in her last months of
>>life.
>>
>>Prosecutors showed the jury pictures taken when Rita showed up at school in
>>January 1997 with bruises on her face.
do...@aol.com (DOG3) Wrote:
>Thanks for the followups Joe.
Hello Michael,
No problem at all. The Baltimore Sun online newspaper should be providing
good coverage of this case, so if any of you want to follow the trial on a
daily basis, reading this daily online newspaper would be a smart move.
> The above quoted from your post, is the one
>part
>of this horrendous trial that literally sickens me. IMO little miss aide
>Mary
>Friedman and the rest of the school brass should have their asses >prosecuted.
I would agree, but you must keep in mind that they were only acting as
representatives of their society. Even if Mary had reported her observations,
and the school had notified CPS about the bruises, it is HIGHLY unlikely that
the State would have seized Rita from the home.
>They obvously saw the abuse and starvation but there is not one word they
>tried
>to intervene.
That is very true.
> Calling the victim "my little rag-muffin" then sending her
>home
>to die. Makes my blood boil.
Well, it only makes me nod my head in insightful appreciation of my own
ability to recognize the inferiority and maliciousness of the human beings that
are created by this society, it's teachings and cultural mores regarding
children and their value within society.
Take care, JOE
Eva Whitley
A minor nit to pick: Frank Scarpola is the older sister's boyfriend, not
the mom's boyfriend.
It makes me so angry that I've been registered to vote for close to 25
years and have never been called for jury duty. I know how I'd vote if I
were on this jury.--Eva Whitley
NanLeeCro
>Subject: Re: Girl Testifies of Nightmare Abuse
>Date: Sat, Apr 18, 1998 00:42 EDT
>Message-id: <353859...@qis.net>
Dear Eva,
I could not serve on their jury - my utter loathe would disqualify me. I could
not contain my loathe, and I would not trust myself being in the same room with
the disgusting inhumane SCUM. And, I hope for the sake of my intolerance, I
never run into that Frikkin "teacher" too! Sincerely from Nan
Joe1orbit
Eva Whitley <ewhi...@qis.net> Wrote:
>A minor nit to pick: Frank Scarpola is the older sister's boyfriend, not
>the mom's boyfriend.
Hello Eva,
Thanks for the correction. After looking over the articles on this case, I
see that you are correct, the boyfriend who initiated most of the abuse, Frank
Scarpola, was the boyfriend of the 21 year old older sister of Rita's, not the
boyfriend of Rita's Mommy. This fact makes the details of how the Mommy acted
in allowing the abuse and torture to continue, to be even more heinous, since
she did not have any romantic or financial ties to Frank.
>It makes me so angry that I've been registered to vote for close to 25
>years and have never been called for jury duty.
I have never registered to vote, and have avoided all jury service, because I
do not live or act as a member of society.
> I know how I'd vote if I
>were on this jury.--Eva Whitley
I would decline all jury service, even though the thought of allowing human
predators to go free does appeal greatly to me. Serving on a jury would be the
act of a member of society, and so I will never do that, despite the
attractiveness that the option does present, in terms of thumbing my nose at
the judicial system of your pathetric society by deliberately voting Not
Guilty, regardless of the testimony presented.
Take care, JOE
Sharonpo
>Eva Whitley <ewhi...@qis.net>
>It makes me so angry that I've been registered to vote for close to 25
>years and have never been called for jury duty. I know how I'd vote if I
>were on this jury.
Hi Eva,
It's very unlikely that you would have the opportunity to serve on a jury if
you indicated your verdict in voir dire.
And in response to The Joe's post following yours in this thread, I would
guess that he has never been summoned either, as "declining" jury duty is not
quite the same as declining an invitation. (Also, his fantasy of being the lone
acquitting juror is a position he would not pull off without serious
consequences.)
The court district where I live arrests people who ignore jury summons; being
excused from jury duty usually requires convincing a District Court judge that
you have a compelling reason to be excused.
I have been summoned for jury duty 5 times in 7 years. I report again the
second week of May. I hope you do have the opportunity for jury duty; merely
being in the courtroom with potential jurors in a murder case can make a
defendant cave in.
glas
"Defense lawyers told the jurors to carefully consider Georgia's
testimony,
because she has a history of being "emotionally disturbed," and
because she has
given authorities inconsistent versions of events."
It's crap like this that makes people hate defense attorneys. The
child was tortured and he's rubbing salt in her wounds.
glas
LawnOrder6
Sharonpo wrote:
>I have been summoned for jury duty 5 times in 7 years. I report again the
>second week of May. I hope you do have the opportunity for jury duty; merely
>being in the courtroom with potential jurors in a murder case can make a
>defendant cave in.
In your case, I don't doubt it!
Direct from: LawnOrder.
GMSpider
GMSpider
In article <199804190234...@ladder03.news.aol.com>, gmsp...@aol.com
(GMSpider) writes:
>>"Defense lawyers told the jurors to carefully consider Georgia's
>>testimony,
>>because she has a history of being "emotionally disturbed," and
>>because she has
>>given authorities inconsistent versions of events."
>>
>>
>>It's crap like this that makes people hate defense attorneys. The
>>child was tortured and he's rubbing salt in her wounds.
>>
>>
>
>
>Visit the Girl Gang Web Pages at
>http://members.aol.com/gmspider/index.html
Let that one slip away from me before I made my comment.
I guess she is "emotionally disturbed" after all she has gone
thru.
Grandma
Emma Chase VanCott
: "Defense lawyers told the jurors to carefully consider Georgia's
: testimony,
: because she has a history of being "emotionally disturbed," and
: because she has
: given authorities inconsistent versions of events."
If she weren't disturbed, she'd be dismissed as being abnormal.
Victims can't win.
emma
:)
--
=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=
Are you an angel? Am I already that gone?
I only hope that I won't disappoint you...
=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=
MZ
Joe
You have to also understand that in some cases, children have lied to a
teacher or aid and denied that they are experiencing any problems at home.
Thus, a professional in some case might decide to not believe the child and
report a family to the appropriate authority for abuse. If the child was
saying the truth and not experiencing any abuse or trauma and a family is
investigated for absolutely no reason, the professional has to face the
consequences.
There are many kids who fear the stigma associated with abuse. They fear
exposing their abuse to society much more than they fear the abuse at home.
They might feel humiliated to admit that this goes on at home.
They might fear the outcome of their peers finding out IMPO. Children can be
very cruel and mean to other children. There are cases (as you are most
likely aware) where children would prefer to go through the abuse at home,
than allow their peers to become aware of their situation and have them
jeer/ laugh or make fun of them.
Joe, I am not saying this was the situation in this case. I am only giving
my opinion as to maybe why some professionals, might be legitimately worried
about interfering when they should be interfering.
I fear that many kids might die, as a result of a professional not taking
action for fear of the consequences of an inaccurate accusation. Maybe if we
cared less of what is going to happen to us and cared a little more for the
innocent, many a life could be saved.
Joe1orbit wrote in message
<199804180005...@ladder03.news.aol.com>...
>In article <199804171326...@ladder01.news.aol.com>,
>>joe1...@aol.com
>>(Joe1orbit) writes:
>>
>>>>snip interesting followup articles<<
>>>An aide at Winand Elementary School, where Rita was a special education
>>>student, said the girl was so hungry last spring that she stole other
>>>students'
>>>food.
>>>
>>>Aide Mary Friedman said the girl scavenged for food, picking up a
sandwich
>>>that
>>>had fallen from a locker. Friedman called Rita "my little rag-muffin," an
>>>unkempt but sweet and happy child who grew despondent in her last months
of
>>>life.
>>>
>>>Prosecutors showed the jury pictures taken when Rita showed up at school
in
>>>January 1997 with bruises on her face.
>
>do...@aol.com (DOG3) Wrote:
>
>>Thanks for the followups Joe.
>(snip)
MZ
Joe
You have to also understand that in some cases, children have lied to a
teacher or aid and denied that they are experiencing any problems at home.
Thus, a professional in some case might decide to not believe the child and
report a family to the appropriate authority for abuse. If the child was
saying the truth and not experiencing any abuse or trauma and a family is
investigated for absolutely no reason, the professional has to face the
consequences.
There are many kids who fear the stigma associated with abuse. They fear
exposing their abuse to society much more than they fear the abuse at home.
They might feel humiliated to admit that this goes on at home.
They might fear the outcome of their peers finding out IMPO. Children can be
very cruel and mean to other children. There are cases (as you are most
likely aware) where children would prefer to go through the abuse at home,
than allow their peers to become aware of their situation and have them
jeer/ laugh or make fun of them.
Joe, I am not saying this was the situation in this case and I agree with
what you say, there is no excuse and if she did know she is just as guilty.
II am only giving my opinion as to why, maybe some professionals, might be
Joe1orbit wrote in message
<199804172352...@ladder03.news.aol.com>...
>>
> nanl...@aol.com (NanLeeCro) Wrote:
>
>>(respectfully snipped - Joe's narrative/editorial)
>
>Joe1...@aol.com Wrote:
> Hello Nan,
>
(snip
>
Joe1orbit
"MZ" <be...@vip.hotkey.net.au> Wrote:
>Joe
>
>You have to also understand that in some cases, children have lied to a
>teacher or aid and denied that they are experiencing any >problems at home.
Hello,
Of course they have lied, and they do lie, on a regular basis. This is a
LIE-BASED society, after all. Children are TAUGHT that the truth is worthless
and dangerous and certainly not something to hold up as a necessary or valuable
act or character trait. Children are PUNISHED for telling the Truth, on a
regular basis, in all aspects of life.
>Thus, a professional in some case might decide to not believe the child and
>report a family to the appropriate authority for abuse.
Yes, as the professional should.
> If the child was
>saying the truth and not experiencing any abuse or trauma and a family is
>investigated for absolutely no reason, the professional has to face the
>consequences.
The professional should face NO consequences. The burden of PROOF as to
parental competency should always be on the PARENT, not on the State or on any
child welfare organization to prove abuse or incompetence. No adult should ever
be punished in any way for reporting child abuse, even if multiple reports all
prove to be unverifiable.
>There are many kids who fear the stigma associated with abuse. They fear
>exposing their abuse to society much more than they fear the abuse at home.
Correct.
>They might feel humiliated to admit that this goes on at home.
Correct.
>They might fear the outcome of their peers finding out IMPO. Children can be
>very cruel and mean to other children.
Correct.
>There are cases (as you are most
>likely aware) where children would prefer to go through the abuse at home,
>than allow their peers to become aware of their situation and have them
>jeer/ laugh or make fun of them.
Correct. but all those facts are irrelevent. Society should forcibly seize
all children from all adults where there is even the slightest proof of any
abuse or mistreatment occuring. It makes no difference what the child wants, or
what the child says. The child should be forcibly seized, removed from the
toxic environment, and placed in the care/possession of people who have all
been forced to take and pass strict and mandatory Parental Competency Tests.
>Joe, I am not saying this was the situation in this case. I am only giving
>my opinion as to maybe why some professionals, might be legitimately worried
>about interfering when they should be interfering.
Those professionals are "worried" because they are employed by a society that
chooses to view children as being worthless and subhuman slaves.
>I fear that many kids might die, as a result of a professional not taking
>action for fear of the consequences of an inaccurate accusation.
No, many children die because society chooses, with full malice aforethought,
to sanction, facilitate, and enable their murders. That is the CORE reason. All
other reasons and explanations stem from this one core and undeniable FACT.
>Maybe if we
>cared less of what is going to happen to us and cared a little more for the
>innocent, many a life could be saved.
Your individual caring would not help any significant number of children.
Professionals CANNOT properly care because if they did they would be violating
the rules and cultural mores of their society, and would be fired from their
positions of authority by their superiors, for not obeying the laws which
dictate children to be subhuman entities with no civil or human rights.
Take care, JOE
>Joe1orbit wrote in message
><199804180005...@ladder03.news.aol.com>...
>>In article <199804171326...@ladder01.news.aol.com>,
>>>joe1...@aol.com
>>>(Joe1orbit) writes:
>>>
>>>>>snip interesting followup articles<<
>>>>An aide at Winand Elementary School, where Rita was a special education
>>>>student, said the girl was so hungry last spring that she stole other
>>>>students'
>>>>food.
>>>>
>>>>Aide Mary Friedman said the girl scavenged for food, picking up a
>sandwich
>>>>that
>>>>had fallen from a locker. Friedman called Rita "my little rag-muffin," an
>>>>unkempt but sweet and happy child who grew despondent in her last months
>of
>>>>life.
>>>>
>>>>Prosecutors showed the jury pictures taken when Rita showed up at school
>in
>>>>January 1997 with bruises on her face.
>>
>>do...@aol.com (DOG3) Wrote:
>>
>>>Thanks for the followups Joe.
>>(snip)
>>