Does Misty Croslin stand a chance?

Look at her parents. Look at her life. It does not take long to see the big picture. Misty didn’t stand a chance. With no quality parental guidance, no education and no skills to fall back on, Misty Croslin Cummings pretty much was doomed to fall into a life of sex, drugs and crime. This type of person should be educated and rehabilitated. Unfortunately, while those concepts are great in theory, “rehabilitation” is rarely the reality for the poor and uneducated criminal. Let’s face it, by the time Misty get’s out of prison, how much was that bail, oh yes it was $50,000 which would be 10% of $1000.000, she will be emotionally destroyed and her spirit will have been broken. In short, prison isn’t about rehabilitation, it’s about removal and destruction. Some people actually rehabilitate themselves, but they are the strongest of the strong. While Misty isn’t in prison yet, she will be and that is where our society fails. At her age, she can actually be reeducated to become a productive member of society. But we don’t often allow losers like her to have a chance. Were she to miraculously come up with some meaningful statement (might her attorney help her with that?) to convince a judge that she is sorry and wants to learn and grow to be a better person, and were he to help her along, her parents would bring her back down in a matter of days. There would have to be some type of program in place to give Misty Shelter from the storm.

Why am I being so thoughtful and empathetic about some trailer trash woman who sold drugs to a cop? Because she is only 18 and she has her entire life ahead of her. Moreover, the world is looking, no, gawking and talking instead of giving her the hand she needs to get up after she fell. Misty’s behavior is learned behavior. She wasn’t born an 18 year old criminal. While I do not seek to give excuses to all the teen drug sales people in the world, she is clearly a child and for this reason, it is painfully obvious that she needed and needs help. Intentionality is something we take into account in murder trials. If it is “proven” that it was not the intention of the killer to kill, the punishment is far less severe. Can we look at the intentionality of Misty’s actions? Did she really understand the profound mistake she was making? Was she destined to repeat the mistakes of her parents? Aren’t we all? Hank blames his sister Misty for his being in jail and getting involved with drugs. Oh yes! Now that’s a definite reason he should be released immediately—-it wasn’t his fault, his little sister MADE HIM DO IT! Do you see how this ignorant family really is?

Should Misty be given help and education or should she be locked up in a prison with hardened criminals?
We should have schools for people like Misty, that teach people from low income homes how to become responsible citizens who are productive. This would be good for the young people who never really had a chance and good for the country. Giving up on them, pointing a finger at them, supposing they should have “known better” or proposing they deserve to be locked up for their “crimes” is preposterous when it amounts to committing a crime that they have been led to by almost every aspect of their unfortunate existence since birth. When does society become accountable for the lost children? I am not proposing socialism. I am proposing sanity in the way we assist the least fortunate members of the lower class. Throwing money at them has been the fix that alleviates the guilt of those who are more fortunate in our country. Welfare and a plethora of other meager programs have provided a way for politicians to rationalize that we are doing “something” which is better than nothing. But throwing money at the “problem” hasn’t worked. It only perpetuates dependent incompetence. Schools that educate the less fortunate could be filled with young prisoners, who have committed non-violent crime, who could learn a trade and contribute to the Gross National Product instead of create more tax debt.

Imagine a Misty Croslin who learned to work for a living as impossible as that may seem. If you give it proper consideration, it isn’t far fetched. We have the money. We just spend it in a less than effective way. At the very least, she can be taught to respect her body and to respect others and to go back to high school or to get a GED, then to get a job.

Behold, a crying, miserable mess of a child, imprisoned and aired nightly on Nancy Grace for the entertainment of all who tune in to stare, mesmerized by the caricature painted before them. Misty Croslin is the food that hoards of sad sacks seek on a daily basis to fuel their blood lust for misery and pain. By her horrible public existence she provides a sense of superiority to those who live in pathetic mediocrity, but who wish to believe that in some way, they are better. Perhaps it is reasonable to deduce that Misty did the best she could with what she had–nothing. And equally reasonable is the assertion that the law requires that she be punished for her actions. What is not reasonable is to apply a law that is meant for people who act with premeditated bad intentions to a confused child who did what she learned to do from practically everyone in her life.

Misty in reality is a victim of being born into unfortunate circumstances. She has a drug addict, criminal father, a mother who isn’t much better and she has never been shown anything in terms of being a truly moral person. Now, instead of becoming a prostitute to earn her money, she took the easy way out. She sold drugs instead of her body. It is trulty amazing that both are illegal. Why isn’t prostitution legal? Why aren’t drugs legal. If we decriminalize them, they will both be less of a threat. But law enforcement is bogged down with the ridiculous task of finding and arresting the “criminals” who choose to use drugs and have sex with strangers. Well, now is that the best use of their time? Nothing can stop the flow of drugs into the USA or the distribution of drugs. So why don’t we just tax and sell the drugs to addicts? Of course an addict would need to register and there would be the option of programs that would help them kick their habit. But, the government could prosper from the sale of these drugs instead of spending millions in the futile quest to apprehend the criminals who distribute them. Moreover, if we did legalize drugs, then, children would be much less likely to have access to them. Children like Misty Croslin. Government center would not sell them to children and the pushers would mostly go out of business because their quality would be inconsistent and their prices high compared to what one could buy at the “center” for legal drug distribution.
We already sell legal marijuana in California. Let’s face it, there can’t be that many people in California with eye disease that is so painful that only Marijuana helps.

Nancy Grace Softens Under Pressure?

Nancy Ann Grace (born October 23, 1959) is an American legal commentator, television host, and former prosecutor. She frequently discusses issues from what she describes as a victims’ rights standpoint, with an outspoken style that has won her both praise and condemnation. She is the host of Nancy Grace, a nightly current affairs show on HLN

To anyone watching HLN’s “Nancy Grace Show” last night it looked as though Nancy had taken some time off to think about her demeanor and behavior that many empathetic people have criticized for some time.

Nancy interviewed the father of missing Haleigh Cummings, “Ronald Cummings”
and although the segment was designed to question whether he wondered if his wife Misty knew more than she was admitting about Haleigh’s disappearance, Nancy didn’t use her usual hard line interrogation technique with no regard for the person she is questioning. It was easy to see just how tempting it was for Nancy Grace to fire away at Cummings. After all, he is not the most savory of characters. He lives in a trailer with his minor wife, Misty. He has had numerous problems with law enforcement including a recent episode in which he is accused of assaulting his wifes father and brother in their own home. This was apparently the result of his wife Misty calling and asking her family to pick her up after she claimed that her husband had beat her. Yes I can see how Nancy might have been temped. Clearly, Cummings has violent tendencies. He has reportedly been investigated in the past for beating Haleigh. Now she’s missing. It certainly looks suspicious. But, Nancy controlled herself and asked good questions in a civil but stern tone. Quite frankly I was amazed at the change in her style. She appeared to be more credible than I have ever seen her. There were no talking heads spouting worthless opinions, no screaming or crying antics—just good questions. If in fact, this is the new Nancy Grace, let me say, congratulations Nancy! I hope this trend continues with one exception. Once again, Nancy had to bring “the twins” into the her commentary. She said that if she came home and found out the twins were gone……..etc. Does she need to state how she would feel if her children were gone in order to find out how one of the guest on her show felt when he discovered his child missing. And isn’t the questions a little obvious. Commentators and talk show hosts often ask the obvious. But why must they ask “how did you feel?” Michael Jackson’s daughter was asked shortly after his death how she felt. Does anyone really need to ask? It was obvious the child was in pain.
This is what I call ratings booting at the expense of showing a person proper respect at a difficult time. So, Nancy, you still have a little more work to do. But in general, this last show was a huge improvement.

I am not so presumptuous as to think that Nancy actually reads what I write. And were she to read this article she might be offended by my supposing that she has “softened”. After all, it is safe to deduce based on Nancy’s past shows that she relishes her tough reputation. The point is, it isn’t necessary to be rude and degrading to be tough. I hope that is what she has finally realized. Perhaps we will have another glimpse of her new style tonight. if so, I will have more to say about it later.