Column: ICWA helps bad Cherokee parents hold onto their son

Thursday, July 28, 2011  

"Brian and Charity Miller, the Dexter parents who chained their 5-year-old son to a bed, will keep their parental rights.

What!

Yes, as sad as it was to read, Judge Fred Wellmann ruled “all of the statutory requirements to terminate (the Millers) parental rights … have not been proven beyond a reasonable doubt.”

Hey, judge, did you see the size of the chain that was used to chain the children, ages 5 and 8, up? The pure fact that these two children were chained up in the first place should have been pretty decent grounds for beyond a reasonable doubt — way beyond a reasonable doubt.

However, because the children are members of the Cherokee tribe, the federal Indian Child Welfare Act applies to the case. Under the Indian Child Welfare Act, the petitioner, Mower County Human Services, must prove beyond a reasonable doubt that they made an active effort to reunify the family.

Why on earth would we want to reunite these children with horrible parents? I really hope that this ruling will change in time."

Get the Story:
Scott Schmeltzer: Keep kids away from the child chainers (The Albert Lea Tribune 7/28)