Dallas mom glued daughter's hands to wall

[n2doc]

(09-09) 08:19 PDT DALLAS, (AP) --

A 22-year-old Dallas mother is in jail after police say she glued her toddler daughter's hands to a wall, kicked her in the stomach and beat her over a potty training issue.

The Dallas Morning News reports that the 2-year-old child was on life support Thursday. A hospital spokeswoman told The Associated Press she had no information on the girl Friday.

The newspaper, citing police records, said glue and paint were stuck to the girl's palms, with skin torn away in places.

The mother, Elizabeth Escalona, faces an injury to a child charge that carries a sentence of up to life in prison. Her attorney didn't immediately return a phone call.



Read more: http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/n/a/2011/09/09/national/a081921D78.DTL

[Broderick]

1. Life in prison is appropriate

[Iggo]

27. Works for me. (N/T)

[Hawkowl]

51. I'd prefer

If someone glued her hands to a wall and kicked her to death. Unfortunately, it would be bad karma for the kicker.

[0rganism]

62. how about counseling, parenting classes and a group home?

Life in prison for the mother = life as orphan(s) for her offspring

The mother's response reeks of desperation, substance abuse, and a history of physical abuse and neglect throughout her own childhood. So let's just put her in prison for the rest of her godforsaken wasteland of a "life", right? That will solve everything! The mother will get all the psychological care she needs while in the penitentiary, and we all know her daughter will be absolutely safe in her new foster home.

We, as a society, have NEVER dealt with the systemic causes of child abuse, but remain eager enough to call for draconian consequences for the effects of those causes. What kind of freak assaults her own daughter during a round of ineffective toilet training? Hint: US.

The people who sit on the jury of her peers will be no less a part of the problem than the one they will inevitably condemn.

[hamsterjill]

65. While I see your point...

I do not think this woman should retain custodial rights to this child. This went over the line completely.

[0rganism]

72. Of course, it's much too late to do anything now

The time for intervention was well before the mother became a psychopathic criminal monster.

But we don't do that in this country. We have a better way: punish the offenders and send the surviving kids to orphanages. Works great.

[Zax2me]

66. Her kid is on life support

I doubt a life - if the child has one - is going to be negatively impacted if her 'mother' isn't there.

[anneboleyn]

67. Yes. She clearly beat and tortured her own child to the verge of death. This is no "mother."

This is a heartless sociopath. This child would be put directly into harm's way by being associated with the woman who gave birth to her (different than a mother).

[Zax2me]

70. There's just a point where counseling isn't an answer

This is that point.

[anneboleyn]

71. I agree. I hope this child survives. The picture of her posted in this thread is just painful

This may be projection, but she looks terrified (physically retreating from her mother), and very sad.

[Lance_Boyle]

2. get yer pics here:

http://www.dreamindemon.com/forums/showthread.php?49078-Gluing-2yo-s-Hands-To-Wall-Was-Just-Part-Of-Her-Torture-Elizabeth-Escalona-Arrested

Just horrible how some mental illness must have forced the poor woman to behave like that. :sarcasm:

[tawadi]

7. Wonder what her neck tat means

[lapislzi]

13. I hope both the apologists and the blood-bayers stay away.

That woman will get plenty punished, I'll warrant, but I don't see any justice in anyone's future.

[snooper2]

3. I have a few ideas of what to do with this piece of filth...

Oh,

And to ensure her picture continue to get spread around in infamy-

[tawadi]

8. Did you see the pic of the 2 year old? Sad expression.

[Broderick]

19. Heart breaking

On life support. ;(

[Marrah_G]

4. ...........

[tawadi]

5. What kind of disgusting piece of crap does something like that to a 2 year old?

:-(

[rapmanej]

6. yeah no real comment

Story speaks for itself

[gratuitous]

9. As long as we keep society atomized

We'll continue to have these horrific tales to look forward to. Young mothers without a support system will turn to these despicable tactics. Now we have an infant on life support, a woman in jail, and a chorus of people who couldn't be bothered heretofore baying for Ms. Escalona's blood.

In case you're wondering, yes, I blame the Republicans for this, particularly their relentless efforts to keep society broken into the tiniest pieces so that everyone - no matter how ill-equipped for the task - feels like they're on their own and going it alone. Moreover, they feel that's the way it should be and resent any "intrusion" into their lives by neighbors and friends who can offer help and the benefit of their own child-rearing experience.

[Turbineguy]

10. Well put.

It's easy to get pregnant and even easier to get in over your head with parenting. A tragedy all the way around.

[Dreamer Tatum]

11. What a bunch of crap.

Like people haven't abused kids before? This is a sick asshole who should never have had a kid in the first place. Show me where this woman reached out for help and a Republican shunned her, and we can talk. Otherwise you're making a political issue out of a criminal one.

[lapislzi]

14. Neat trick

"Should never have had a kid in the first place." How you going to pull that one off, Dreamer?

Selective sterilization? What fantastic idea do you have to ensure that every child is wanted and properly cared for? Or that every parent has a support network to whom they can turn when they feel desperate?

The social safety net, in case you hadn't noticed, is shredded. I don't know what social services may have been available to this woman, but it's pretty likely that they've been cut to ribbons over the past decades. The suicide hotline being open from 9 - 5 isn't very useful if you're not feeling suicidal during business hours.

[Dreamer Tatum]

16. Sterilization? Suicide? WHAT?

HUH?

I don't want to sterilize anyone. This woman, ex post, shouldn't have had a kid. So the kid gets taken away and she goes up the river.

You're bringing all kinds of irrelevant crap into the discussion.

[lapislzi]

24. I just want to know

What criteria YOU use to determine who "should" have a kid...and how these criteria could effectively be put into practice. You are making a judgment, and I would like you to support it with ideas.

I used the suicide metaphor to demonstrate the often-limited availability of, and access to, support services.

[Iggo]

30. You're arguing two different tenses.

"should have a kid" vs "should have had a kid"

Relax. :hi:

[lapislzi]

41. Grrr. Don't wanna relax.

I think that all the time, that the people who are ill-suited to the raising of children seem to be the ones doing all the breeding. I was being kind of rhetorical: there is no qualifying test for parenthood, nor could there ever be.

And so, children will continue to be abused and killed. We can only hope to improve statistics with better support and services. Sadly, we seem to be going in the wrong direction with that.

Peace to you.
:hi:

[gratuitous]

18. Try reading my post over again

I never said kids haven't been abused "before." I never said she reached out for help and a Republican shunned her. I appreciate your effort to stuff words into my post, but those words weren't there. Is she a sick asshole? I don't know, but apparently you're intimately acquainted with her and able to render your judgment; what help did you offer to Ms. Escalona, or what steps did you take to save the baby from this "sick asshole's" clutches?

And yes, there is a political dimension to this crime, which you might discern if you took the trouble to read what I wrote rather than what you thought I wrote.

[Dreamer Tatum]

23. You have the most appropriate screen name EVER. nt

[gratuitous]

35. Thanks

But did you have an answer to my question? Or were you just rendering a gratuitous judgment on Ms. Escalona as a sick asshole without any firsthand knowledge of the situation? Wake up, Dreamer, have a cup of coffee or two, and try reading again what I actually wrote, instead of what you think I wrote. It seems a common misconception amongst people responding to my post to think that I'm excusing or absolving Ms. Escalona of her responsibility.

[calendargirl]

26. What is the political dimension of this crime?

How do you know she was impoverished? How do you know she applied for public assistance or called a suicide or child abuse hotline or reached out for help in any way, and was refused? Casey Anthony and Susan Smith committed heinous crimes against their children, but would you make the same argument for them? Probably not, since they don't have tattoos on their necks.

[Dreamer Tatum]

39. Don't bother. Each post adds a new dimension of someone-else's-fault. nt

[Desertrose]

15. You are spot on.

And it is so sad & unnecessary.

The Native Americans had it right...everyone in the village helped raise the children...and it worked for everyone on so many levels.

[snagglepuss]

20. But Native Americans had a unicultural society rather than a multi-cultural

one. Villages raised kids because there were no issues about cultural identities and sensitivites.

[TwilightGardener]

21. I can see pointing to a societal breakdown sometimes, when things like this happen.

But sometimes mothers and fathers are just sick, self-absorbed monsters who should never have had children, and all the money and advantages in the world wouldn't have made them treat their children any better. I think this gal is one of those.

[lapislzi]

58. There's no telling.

4 kids by age 22? That's telling.

You're right that she should not be a parent, but there's no sane way to prevent the unfit from breeding.

I maintain it's generational. I suspect that when the facts come out, we may learn that she had been abused herself, or at the very least, subject to some significant dysfunction.

[seabeyond]

29. lack of support is not the reason this young woman chose to hurt her daughter in this manner

it goes way beyond lack of support or even inabilities as a parent.

[lapislzi]

43. Your thoughts?

We have few facts. I suspect that she came from an abusive background herself. But, people can transcend their abusive backgrounds. It can be done with or without support, but it's definitely easier with support.

Ask my daughter. My mother used to beat me with a newspaper and a hairbrush, "praying" over me for the devil to leave my body. Ask my daughter if I've ever raised a hand to her.

[seabeyond]

69. we live in a very dysfunctional society that has lost a lot of empathy along the way

i agree that she probably had a really fucked up life. and her children will have a fucked up life. and they will teach their children to have a really fucked up life.

unless there is intervention.

we need more. i agree. but the more we say anything goes, and the more we teach selfisness and self centeredness, the more we walk away from that.

she probably should have been called on way before this moment.

i have a niece and two nephews raised in poor environments. she started having babies young. she is far from perfect, but she works really hard not making the same mistakes as her parents. she works really hard to be a good parent. and still, she doesnt have the knowledge adn she is really young. she uses the support systems, too.

but a mom that would chose to do this to a child probably would not be one looking to be better.

that is why i posted what i did. i see the people that need help, and recognize. and see the people that have no interest in help

[lapislzi]

73. You see she needs help. I see she needs help.

She thinks that the way to toilet teach the baby is with spanking and punishment. She is sick of dirty diapers and four screaming kids and wants everybody to STFU so she can take another bong hit or have another beer (disclaimer: complete speculation).

She has no clue how to be a proper parent, even if she were so inclined (and who's to say?) It was probably never modeled. If the baby soils his diaper, he gets punished. Simple equation for the ignorant.

There's ignorant who don't give a shit and will never improve their lot in life (this woman, probably), and there's ignorant who are doing their damndest to change the circumstances of their lives and the lives of their children. If you know that you do not know, then you have taken the first step on the road out of ignorance.

[seabeyond]

74. i couldnt agree with you more...

on your whole post.

[NashVegas]

32. Child Abuse Is Not Owned By a Political Party

And it's something that society will never be able to entirely prevent without taking total control of reproduction and family management.

Want to talk about young mothers w/no support system? Better start writing letters to fucking Glamour Magazine, Cosmopolitan, little what's-her-name Spears, most songwriters, and every person or entity out there who is encouraging unprotected teen sex, especially outside of committed relationships.

[Pithlet]

45. Child abuse isn't owned by political parties

but social safety nets are. And when people are stressed and strained, child abuse runs more rampant. It isn't Glamor Magazine and Cosmopolitan slashing government spending.

[lapislzi]

47. And there is one party that never met a social safety net it didn't want to slash

Although both parties seem to be outdoing each other lately in the safety net bloodbath.

We will never prevent child abuse. We can only hope to reduce it by means of a compassionate society--which we currently do not have. And we are heading in the wrong direction.

[Warren DeMontague]

57. Funny I didn't see contraception and access to reproductive services in your post

Oh, right, it's all about stopping people from fucking before marriage, which they never did before Britney Spears and Cosmopolitan forced them to start. :eyes:

[FrodosPet]

75. It's a miserable Catch 22

If you don't get people help, tragadies happen. If you do try to get people help, you are disrespecting their privacy and independence.

Was the mother behaving in a way prior to this incident that would have allowed forced intervention? Would she have voluntarily accepted counseling prior to this? It's not easy helping people who are fighting agaisnt your assistance.

[lapislzi]

12. Life support??? What the F?

How do you do that to a kid?

If the child is on life support now, you can be reasonably sure that this is not the first incident of abuse visited upon this helpless little person. Typically it starts out small and escalates over time. I'm not going to make excuses for the mother (there is none), although I do pity her. Ignorance, poverty, family history of violence, are probably all there.

I see a massive, systemic failure here, and possibly two lives destroyed. I hope the little girl recovers and has a chance with an adoptive family. The mother will die in jail.

So. Fucking. Sad.

[calendargirl]

17. Why so quick to blame this on the "system?"

That's crap. Why can't people call a spade a spade? She's a crazy bitch who practically killed her own innocent, beautiful daughter. Blame it on HER.

[Broderick]

25. I take offense to your comment with racial overtones

But I get your point, and certainly she is to blame.

[calendargirl]

28. What racial overtones? n/t

[Broderick]

34. Don't like the saying

calling a spade a spade.

Wiki:
Spade
A black person,<172> recorded since 1928 (OED), from the playing cards suit.

and more from Wiki:
The phrase predates the use of the word "spade" as an ethnic slur against African-Americans, which was not recorded until 1928; however, in contemporary U.S. society, the idiom is often avoided due to potential confusion with the slur.<1>

[lapislzi]

38. I noticed that; decided to let it slide

Giving the poster the benefit of the doubt, even though I disagree with him/her. This horrible crime goes far beyond one individual.

[Broderick]

40. A lot of people don't understand the undertones of the saying

Not faulting anyone but letting them know. Some use it to make a racial point, and I highly doubt the poster is racist at all. Just unfamiliar.

[lapislzi]

42. I know. I wouldn't use it.

Even when I'm careful not to offend, it happens inadvertently. I try always to apologize. I love DU and would never wish to malign or impugn.

[Broderick]

44. Honestly I think people are a little quick

with the thin skin and that is why I never berate or come down on someone that might be unfamiliar with something that might offend someone. I see some people offended by being offended when someone else is offending when they didn't mean to offend. I watched a thread where someone was asking reasonable questions being thoroughly skinned alive in screenspeak because "union" folks were a bit thin skinned. It happens here all the time and a bit too much in my opinion. Everyone has their own grievances to perceived prejudices that are carried like a mountain on the shoulders. They seek to be offended and react with vitriol and miss a point or message.

[lapislzi]

50. That "thick skin" clause in the DU rules

People need to remember it. I get steamed sometimes. That's when I know I need a break. Really. We're all on the same team. Really.

:hug:

[Broderick]

52. +1

[calendargirl]

54. I understand that "spade" is a derogatory term.

I did not mean it as such when using the phrase, which has already been shown to pre-date the slur.

[Broderick]

56. Sure the phrase predates that

But since 1928 it is held in different context.

[Lance_Boyle]

68. bullshit

You can invent racism in the term if you want to, but it is commonly used today and means the same thing it meant before 1928. Don't feed the concern trolls.

[lapislzi]

31. Not so fast.

I never like to sling the word "crazy" about, because I think it's too often used to excuse inexcusable behavior. Neither you nor I knows anything about the mother's mental state. I speculated that she may have come from an abusive background herself. But that's all that is: speculation.

OK, say she is "crazy." In a world with social services and a support system, she'd be getting help. Maybe she would have an extended family. Maybe she would have had easy access to family planning or pregnancy termination. Maybe she could have attended parenting classes. A lot of "maybes" and not a lot of facts.

I strongly suspect that she had access to few or none of the above. And I say all this not to excuse the inexcusable, but to look at the broader picture of what is happening to the poor in this country (I'm going to go out on a limb here and suggest that the woman probably isn't well-to-do). A poster upthread said "atomized," and that's exactly what we're witnessing here.

She might be a spade, but she's got the whole suit behind her.

[Lone_Star_Dem]

46. Numerous people told police they'd witnessed the mother inflict pain on the child in the past

Or so they've told police now that this incident has taken place. There's no report of CPS (Child Protective Services) having been involved before as of yet though. It's possible no reports were ever made of the previous abuse, or it's possible the existence of such reports has not been released to the media yet.. Too often people don't want to get involved in family matters, and no one ever reports the abuse. It's more common for children under school age to be in abusive homes with no record of the abuse.

The woman had three other children excluding the little two-year old girl. All four are in the custody of CPS at this time. In all probability, they'll be handed over to family members in the future.

[lapislzi]

53. Four children at the age of 22.

That's a crime in itself.

CPS stretched beyond its limits. Family members with abusive backgrounds...the cycle of violence is doomed to be repeated endlessly.

Reminds me of another story from the Colorado area that I read about recently. Cannot remember the names of the children (a set of twins, now adults) involved, but the abusers are serving life sentences. My heart broke when I read that story, as it breaks when I read about this.

I hope those children get a decent future.

[ClarkUSA]

22. There are plenty of angry abusive humans who should never be parents.

Poor kid.

[Blue_Tires]

33. I'm wondering when people are going to take a critical look

at how tragically unprepared and immature some young parents are (SOME, not all, but the numbers do seem to be rising)

I had a co-worker 11-12 years ago who punched his infant son to death...He was in his early 20s, had a history of mental/emotional/juvenile issues, and could hardly take care of himself in the best of conditions...Why he was ever expected to look after an infant boggles the mind...

[seabeyond]

36. +1. nt

[lapislzi]

37. I always say, you need a license to drive a car

but any idiot can breed. Sadly, many do.

There is so much wrong here, starting with the mother.

[Blue_Tires]

49. I guess it's up to sociologists to find the answer someday

is it just a chain of lackluster parenting from generation to generation that finally snowballs into something like this i don't know...

[lapislzi]

55. It's always been there.

Society ebbs and flows with whether it's OK to use corporal punishment on children. Right now it's in an ebb, and I think that's for the better.

Not that I'm suggesting that this incident is mere corporal punishment. Having been exposed to both corporal punishment (slap on the backside) and child abuse (see post upthread), I know the difference.

Child abuse (and, more generally, domestic violence) IS generational. It IS somewhat poverty-driven, although it occurs in all income brackets. It IS ignorance-driven. It IS isolation-driven.

Many of these can be addressed. Some can't.

[Broderick]

48. I look at my own little kids and it makes me so ill

how anyone could hurt their child.

[FloridaJudy]

59. Sounds as if gluing the kid's hands was the least of it

Though it makes for a more attention-grabbing headline. As the mother of an ADHD child, I had days when the notion of combining superglue and duct tape was really tempting. "Butt, meet chair. It appears you two have never been introduced". Fortunately, most adults have enough self control not to act on such impulses.

This is just sad.

[malaise]

60. Rick Parry's posse

That is all

[Avalux]

61. OMG. That poor child. The mother had better go to prison for life.

I hope the little girl survives and can live a better life without her 'mother' in it.

[Contrary1]

63. All one needs to do is pick up the phone...

"Please help me, I'm afraid that I might hurt my child".

The police, social services, the fire department, a doctor. Nothing political about it.

[lapislzi]

64. You have to get to that mind-set first.

I'm trying *not* to make this political, except inasmuch as services are much diminished; caseworkers are overloaded due to cuts; poverty is endemic. Yeah, those are the larger, macro factors.

In this woman's microverse, the way you "teach" the baby is with spankings and other severe punishments. It is ignorance, it is generational, and it probably is how she was taught. "Afraid I might hurt my child" is not part of that equation. Hurting the child is part of her function as a parent. How many times have I heard, "it's the only way he's going to learn?"