Mom not charged for dumping disabled daughter at bar
Lynn Cameron (Caryville Police Department)
Abandoning a child who needs help is never right, but it’s not always illegal.
A Chicago-area woman who drove to Tennessee to dump off her mentally disabled 19-year-old daughter will not be charged, police said Tuesday in The Knoxville News Sentinel.
Police in the tiny town of Caryville had tried since June 28 to figure out the identity of the young woman. A break in the case came 10 days later when a Chicago-area resident recognized the daughter on a missing persons website and alerted authorities, who contacted the mom – Eva Cameron, 45, of Algonquin, Ill.
The mom traveled back to Tennessee to speak to police, not to pick up her daughter, Lynn Cameron, who has the mental capacity of a toddler and could not identify herself or her mother.
“[The mom] said that she did not want her, that she couldn’t take care of her and that she wasn’t going to take her back to Illinois,” said Caryville police Assistant Chief Stephanie Smith in The Chicago Tribune.
“She let her out to use the bathroom and drove away,” Smith said Tuesday. “She said she just couldn’t handle her anymore.”
Cameron, who has another mentally disabled child, cannot be charged because the daughter she abandoned is legally an adult.
Cameron told The Northwest Herald in suburban Chicago that she drove her daughter to Tennessee because it has the “No. 1 health care system in the United States of America” and she wanted the best for her child. She also said her church directed her there because it is a more Baptist area.
Tuesday, the daughter became an official ward of the state of Tennessee.
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155 comments Add your comment
nicole
July 11th, 2012
9:45 am
Absolutely tragic
Victoria
July 11th, 2012
9:51 am
What kind of parent does that to their child? Especially one who is mentally handicapped? How tragic for this poor girl. She has the mental capacity of a toddler, so imagine a toddler being left all by herself and never seeing her mother again. How terrible this world is.
Mike
July 11th, 2012
9:56 am
Her church advised her where to take her? You reap what you sow
Sandra
July 11th, 2012
10:02 am
This mom needs a dose of her own medicine. Does she really go to church?
gadem
July 11th, 2012
10:04 am
wow…there are some terrible parents in this world.
missinformation7
July 11th, 2012
10:10 am
This is too sad.
scum_are_everywhere
July 11th, 2012
10:14 am
I hope and pray the mother gets terminal cancer ASAP!
vcorrilo
July 11th, 2012
10:17 am
Wow, what a shame!!! I can’t believe a parent would do such a thing to her child.
Keri
July 11th, 2012
10:19 am
One of the most heartbreaking stories I’ve ever read.
glenda
July 11th, 2012
10:23 am
why should the state of tennesse be responsible for taking care of this womans child… how long will it be before she brings the other unwanted child down down here for the citizens of tennessee to keep up……..this should not be allowed
RAMZAD
July 11th, 2012
10:23 am
Tennessee also started the Klan.
Danny O
July 11th, 2012
10:24 am
What did the mom say to friends and family who were wondering what happened to Lynn?
I'm not going to Judge.
July 11th, 2012
10:25 am
Very tragic. I pray that the girl gets the care that she deserves.
sheepdawg
July 11th, 2012
10:26 am
another sign of our sad times
grow-up
July 11th, 2012
10:27 am
So I guess one of you will be going to adopt her? NOT, I think it’s time people grow-up. Rwanda, Darfur, Chechnya to name a few. People being killed just to kill them “millions”, and someone complains about someone that has the mental capacity of a toddler being dumped.
Jesus Christ crushes perverted NWO, DBMs
July 11th, 2012
10:33 am
Given the lesser of two evils, I say dump her in Tennessee rather than abort her in Algonquin, Ill. I’m an African American man troubled by the fact that African American women murdered via abortion over half the black babies they should have birthed since 1973 Roe Vs Wade.
Amen?
Lucretia
July 11th, 2012
10:34 am
It is a sad shame that the mother won’t be held responsible. Whether she is an adult or not she had the mind of a toddler. What kind of laws would protect a mom like that. Sad, sad world that we are living in.
Spring-Fresh
July 11th, 2012
10:35 am
You can also look at this situation in a different way. I am not validating what she did, however I am glad she opted to do it this way (best way she apparently knew) than to murder her child. If you all remember just recently the AJC and media outlets reported a case where the mother of a disabled/mentally challenged child had been abused/neglected and eventually murdered by her mother. So please don’t be too hard on this mother because until you have walked in her shoes you don’t know how it feels. Finally she did try to keep her for 19 years.
Emma
July 11th, 2012
10:36 am
I almost dropped a few tears…this is sooooo sad.
Gram
July 11th, 2012
10:37 am
Sorry…but she isn’t a “child”. She is legally an adult…and as much as we hate what that mother did, she was well within the law. Now, if you want this changed, you need to petition Washington D.C. to change the laws the include the mentally retarded as a “child”, no matter his/her age.
nofreecheese
July 11th, 2012
10:37 am
“Let ye without sin cast the first stone.” While she didn’t handle the difficult situation appropriately, she shouldn’t be vilified. She has accepted the physically and emotional responsibility of caring for her mentally disabled for 19 years and finally cracked. Most of us have children which require much less effort to raise and care for, yet we begin the process of pushing them out of the nest when they become young adults. I’m not defending her actions, but unless you have walked in her shoes, do not judge her.
Tammt
July 11th, 2012
10:37 am
They should give the daughter a job opening beer bottles in a bar.
Tinker
July 11th, 2012
10:37 am
Perhaps I assume too much, but I would assume the mother would have been receiving some kind of $$$ Benefit (perhaps SSI, etc.) for this daughter. In order to receive the $$$ would she not have to be the legal gaurdian, thus making her responsible and breaking the law by dropping the child off? Then again maybe she was not receiving $$$ from the state. Regardless, she sounds like a dirtbag!
ForReals?
July 11th, 2012
10:38 am
Does Tennessee really have the best health care system in the US? That can’t be correct … can it?
Name (required)
July 11th, 2012
10:38 am
Churches make people do stupid things. This lady is going to hell in a handbasket.
Tragic But Legal
July 11th, 2012
10:38 am
This mother has another mentally challenged child at home…maybe the MOTHER is passing on that gene to her kids. The mother, herself, needs to be evaluated by a psychiatrist, too.
Tragic But Legal
July 11th, 2012
10:41 am
If she was receiving benefit for that child, she would no longer receive it once the child becomes an adult.
Georgia girl
July 11th, 2012
10:41 am
Yes, the mother did the wrong thing, but maybe now the young lady will get much better care than she probably had in the past.
Pat
July 11th, 2012
10:45 am
As horrific as this sounds, perhaps I need to walk in the woman’s shoes to understand the mental, physical and financial stress that would drive her to this. The church recommending this method, THIS I can’t believe. Maybe they could have helped lighten her burden instead..
Mommy
July 11th, 2012
10:46 am
Maybe this is the ONLY way her daughter would get the help she needs. The “system” in Chicago (as well as here in ATL) obviously could not help her and possibly the Mom did the best she could given her situation. I see my own friend struggle with her child with a mental illness. The ONLY way she was able to get help was when the young adult committed a crime and THEN did the state/county see she needed help. Why does it come to that?! Sad situation all around. I hope they all get some much needed help…..
Kristy
July 11th, 2012
10:47 am
While I agree this is a horrible thing to do, at least she did not kill her like so many other women who can’t handle their children.
TrishaDishaWarEagle
July 11th, 2012
10:50 am
stay classless, tammt
j
July 11th, 2012
10:50 am
i see both sides of the argument but i have to side with one … can you imagine, as a child, stopping for a bathroom stop and then coming out and not seeing your family anywhere? How tragic can that be? Regardless of the situation, there have got to be other ways if you can no longer take care of your child. yes, i may not have walked a mile in her shoes but this is still a terrible way to abandon a child.
Auntie Christ
July 11th, 2012
10:51 am
What if she had the mental capacity of an 11 year old, would it have been all right to abandon her then? At what age equivalent level would it have been okay to abandon her? I ask this because the great state of GA will be executing a 52 year old man next week who has the mental capacity of an 11 year old, in essence killing a child. I am willing to bet that many of the commenters here would say it is reprehensible to abandon an 11 year old, yet would say it is permissible to kill one, in the name of “justice.” Amirite?
Laura
July 11th, 2012
10:52 am
The article said the girl could not either “identify herself or her mother”, so why do you think she would even have the capacity to miss her? She doesn’t even know who she is! Some of you are very naive. Once the girl turned 18, the mother could not get SSDI paid to her, it would go to the girl, unless she had a legal guardian who was willing to be responsible for her or… she had been made a ward of the state, which is exactly what the State of Tennessee did. You cannot possibly even begin to imagine how physically, mentally, and emotionally draining caring for this girl would have been, especially with another disabled child, but some of you are going to find out in due time, whether caring for sick, physically challenged, aging parents or spouses. If this happens to you, let’s see how you feel about it after about 6 months or so. Oh yes, don’t forget the monetary costs that will be involved either. They are going to be staggering, even with Obamacare.
Cmdr. Shepard
July 11th, 2012
10:55 am
They should have checked the mother into the official ward too.
Robert
July 11th, 2012
10:56 am
Directed there by her church? Damn good Christians, promoting abandoning a “child”, regardless of age. Why didnt they do the good “Christian” thing and help the mother?
Didn’t their Lord and Saviour promote charity, kindness, and all those other wonderful Socialist ideas that these people rejected?
JET
July 11th, 2012
10:57 am
Her day will come. Karma has a way of catching up with you. Hope she can handle retribution.
Not even wrong
July 11th, 2012
10:58 am
So can I dump my wife off in Tenn too?
UMrules
July 11th, 2012
10:58 am
This woman downloads defective children and dumps one of them on the state of Tennessee? Well…she must be a godly genius…I’m moving to Tennessee tomorrow.
I too want to be taken care of!
ExNuYawker
July 11th, 2012
11:00 am
She can come live with our family anytime.
catlady
July 11th, 2012
11:00 am
Where is the daddy?!
Confused
July 11th, 2012
11:00 am
All of you double-digit IQ, government dependent dimwits are raging over a person with a profoundly deficient cognitive capacity yet you elected the same in 2008 to live in the Whitehouse?
Allison Wonderland
July 11th, 2012
11:02 am
@Confused LOSER!!!! OBAMA 2012!!!!
JET
July 11th, 2012
11:03 am
You are indeed confused.
catlady
July 11th, 2012
11:03 am
And she dumped her off at a BAR? Yeah, real humane. So some lowlife can “pick her up?”
Parents of severely disabled children have a very tough time. If the daughter is no longer in school (could have stayed in till the end of the year she turns 21), why not?
It says a lot that the mama is willing to give up the check ($700+?)
Confused
July 11th, 2012
11:04 am
Sorry, meant to say “yet you elected the same in 2000 to live in the Whitehouse?”
JET
July 11th, 2012
11:05 am
Talking about dimwits confused we had that man who read the book upside down on 9/11 for 8 years.
Jesus Christ crushes perverted NWO, DBMs
July 11th, 2012
11:09 am
There is no moral equivalency etc to a mother killing a helpless innocent baby in the womb vs. the state killing a guilty capital case inmate with questionable mental deficiencies.
As Christians and thinking human beings, it is impossible to justify the former but possible to lend support to the latter.
Amen?
Just A Thought
July 11th, 2012
11:11 am
Laura, the article stated “could not even identify her mother”. This didn’t imply she could not recognize her mother. Small point but some toddlers may be unable to verbalize names but recognize and understand their relationship to others who care for them. My grandchildren certainly recognize when we leave them and do not hide the fact they missed us when we return either though they can’t necessarily verbalize it. I think you haven’t spent much time around young children.
Thatguy
July 11th, 2012
11:11 am
“She also said her church directed her there because it is a more Baptist area.”
Because keeping her Baptist was more important than convincing the mom not to abandon her child (-ish)? Some people…
BOB
July 11th, 2012
11:12 am
I guess if you are liberal and believe in the nanny state you are ok with what the mother did
HowDoYouKnow
July 11th, 2012
11:19 am
As heartbreaking and cruel as her actions may sound, no one knows what this woman has been through. Sure, she could have been receiving benefits — could have been being the operative words here — but do any of you know that for sure. Yes, this is her child, but does anyone posting here have any idea what it takes to care for a mentally disabled child or child with severe healthcare issues, who has also had to deal with obtaining and receiving any type of benefits for assistance? I myself have a 23-year-old with severe medical issues who actually had to be revived four times last year and not only have issues with obtaining adequate medical care for her but could not get any assistance for her children, to help care for them, because she did not pass away. And, yes, I’m still here fighting for my daughter, but everyday is a constant battle and struggle trying to deal with the system. Don’t judge this woman too harshly. Maybe she was just at the end of her rope, didn’t have any other options, and couldn’t see a way out. Instead, pray for her and her daughter.
Jesus Christ crushes perverted NWO, DBMs
July 11th, 2012
11:25 am
By the same token, there is no moral equivalency etc to a mother killing a helpless innocent baby in the womb via abortion vs. a mother dumping off her mentally disabled 19-year-old daughter in Tennessee.
As Christians and thinking human beings, it is impossible to justify the former but possible to lend support to the latter.
Amen?
Emeka
July 11th, 2012
11:25 am
I think the mom did a responsible thing. We don’t know the type of difficulties that she has been going through. According to the news, she picked Tenneesse because of its good healthcare record, so she really thought about what was good for her ” GROWN” child. Again, she has another child with similar mental issues. Lets give the mom some credit , she took care of the child till she became an adult. Lets face it , some men have kids and never paid child support , some women gave birth to kids but left grandma to raise their kids. The later is even worse than what this woman did.
re-tah-ded
July 11th, 2012
11:29 am
have you seen my baseball?
Mother
July 11th, 2012
11:41 am
What kind of a mother is she? Ok… you can’t handle taking care of her but you dump her and drive off.. You couldn’t go through the proper channels… then you say it’s because the state has great healthcare… TOTAL BS! I’m so disgusted… Shame on that woman.. and what kind of church would give her that kind of advice.. they couldn’t have known that this was her plan…. DFACs should take her other kid… apparently when the money runs out so does the care…
parent of special child
July 11th, 2012
11:46 am
As the parent of a special child over the age of 18, legally an adult, but in no way capable of caring for herself, I would not leave the child with strangers, let alone abandon her. In my opinion, she should be charged with abuse. That would be the charge if an adult child was found to be abusing and/or neglecting their mentally or physically incapacited parent. Just because the young lady was legally an adult does not condone her abandoning her!
betsy
July 11th, 2012
11:46 am
legally she could abandon her child, but morally she did a horrible thing why did her church not find a mental facility to place the “child” because that is still what she is what kind of “cult” excuse me church did she attend Lord Jesus help us all because most of the world is messed up bad
BG
July 11th, 2012
11:48 am
Unreal!!
martha
July 11th, 2012
11:53 am
this is sooo very sad — poor littel girl — dispite being aged 19 in years but mentally a child — some of you people are so mean — i hope i don’t know any of you — hope you are nicer to your own friends/family — doubtful
Roekest
July 11th, 2012
11:56 am
People like that mother should be chucked off a bridge with a weight tied around their friggin’ necks. F-ing animal.
camile
July 11th, 2012
11:56 am
Enter your comments here
Kelli
July 11th, 2012
12:00 pm
For those who are against the ‘nanny’ state. What would you have a woman with no financial, educational, mental, emotional or support to do? She choose to dump her 19 year old child but she did not murder her like so many crazy parents do when they loose their jobs and can’t figure a way to ’support’ their families. She tried to do the humane thing, and went for counsel before making her decision. A 120 lb. toddler is quite a bit to support, but at least she didn’t abort her children. But who is there to support the mother?
catlady
July 11th, 2012
12:02 pm
Kelli–apparently, the good Baptist people of Tennessee!
taboo
July 11th, 2012
12:04 pm
This breaks my heart. That mother will get her come-uppance though!
catlady
July 11th, 2012
12:04 pm
Wait a minute! “A break in the case came 10 days later when a Chicago-area resident recognized the daughter on a missing persons website and alerted authorities”
So the mother reported her missing? After dumping her out? WTH? Was she hoping to get some “sympathy money?”
catlady
July 11th, 2012
12:05 pm
And I still want to know where the father is!
This all seems very fishy.
camile
July 11th, 2012
12:06 pm
I see both sides of the issue..
I have good friends who have a son that is disabled. They have taken care of him but also realize that at some point, due to his limitations and theirs, they will not be able to continue to care for him. It has NOTHING to do with money. They are researching homes and facilities to find the best place. They don’t receive any benefits b/c of their income and aren’t looking for it, they can afford it. However, at the age of 19, they know that if he becomes a ward of the state, he can get additional care.
I don’t really blame the mother 100%. I think we don’t like the fact that she left the child vs. talking to someone and taking the girl to a facility. That is what hurts the most but she did care fo the child for 18years. As with my friends, the hospital encouraged them to give the baby to the state when he was born but they knew that they could do a better job.
Let’s not rush to judgment until we walk a mile in someone’s shoes. We as people are always quick to say “What I would do” but you just don’t know until it happens to you.
sigh
July 11th, 2012
12:13 pm
We will take the poor girl and give her a loving home
And?
July 11th, 2012
12:21 pm
Typical baptist.
Allison
July 11th, 2012
12:27 pm
So very sad. As a mother, I could never do something like that. I don’t care how hard it is. She should be ashamed of herself. I guess they should be on the lookout for her other child being dumped too since that child is mentally disabled also. Stories like these just make me sick.
mom
July 11th, 2012
12:29 pm
I have a 18 year old mentally disabled child who will never be able to live on his own. We get no support from the government. We get much valuable support from our church. They provide a safe place for him to belong and provide much needed respite and emotional support for our family, something that no government could ever provide. The church and other charitable organizations are willing to help families like mine. The only thing that I expect the government to do is to allow and encourage these organizations to provide this type of support.
This story is incredibly tragic, but until you have fully walked in her shoes and understand what it is like to carry the burden of emotional and financial responsibility of a severely disabled child, you cannot completely understand.
Sad
July 11th, 2012
12:32 pm
@Jesus Christ crushes perverted NWO, DBMs – YOU’RE A DANG IDIOT! People like you keep racism going. WTH does that have to do with the article. African American women aren’t the only ones having abortions.
This is such a sad story. I wonder why she kept the other disabled child and not this one. Wow who just puts their child out like garbage. Yes she is legally an adult but with the mental capacity of a toddler. Wow I am at a loss for words.
Old Dawg
July 11th, 2012
12:36 pm
Soulless!
Sad
July 11th, 2012
12:36 pm
I agree that no one knows how she felt. My issue is why would you drop her off at a bar? Someone could have been drunk and hurt her. Why not the police station or the hospital?
Madea
July 11th, 2012
12:37 pm
If a person has the mental capacity of a toddler, she is NOT an adult!!! What if she left the bar and walked into traffic? Baked to death (dehydrated) in the hot sun? Got raped? Was prostituted? How irresponsible of the mother!!! Why didn’t she simply turn her over to authorities properly? Where is human decency?!!! Hope they don’t show the “mom’s” face on TV. She might get beat up. Or worse.
CJ
July 11th, 2012
12:38 pm
Let’s not be eager to pass judgment on this lady. I’m not saying it is right what she did but she has another child to care for who requires special care. What would we have done? You or I may have done things differently but who’s to say.
Light
July 11th, 2012
12:50 pm
While I’m in disagreement with the mother’s actions, I think her actions says something larger about care in developmental disabilities and access to adequate, appropriate, and AFFORDABLE care. It sounds like the mother has more than she can handle and being at the end of the rope did what she thinks will be a help to her daughter. As a society, we are so quick to judge but not willing to work collectively towards solutions so that we ALL do well and function in society. We spend money on wars, house and feed criminals, support welfare recipients for extended periods of time, but we discard those who can’t take of themselves because of developmental disabilities, and unfortunately, the parent/caretaker often don’t have the resources/income/insurance to provide for them and family can be selfish and think it’s not their problem. But the reality is that we are all connected in some form or fashion, and it is our problem. I’m sorry this unfortunate situation happened to the daughter and sorry that the mother felt this was her last option.
Bluto
July 11th, 2012
12:52 pm
I would rather her drop her off somewhere (other than a bar) , than keep her and not give her the care she needs.
Sheri
July 11th, 2012
12:53 pm
I would imagine that there are quite a few people who for whatever reason are unable to take care of a now-adult disabled child and turn them over to be a ward of the state. This often happens when the caregiver dies and no one steps forward to care for the disabled person. Had this woman (I refuse to refer to her as the girls “Mother”) gone through the proper channels in the state of Illinois, this would not be news. With that being said, I can not imagine driving a person with the mental capacity of a toddler to a bar and leaving her there…and her church advised her to do it?? I think Hell has a room reserved for all of those people. I really feel sorry for this girl and hope that she is not mistreated any further.
Dwayne
July 11th, 2012
12:55 pm
I just can not wrap my mind around this story. How you advise your church member to drop off a child, like she is a car or something. GOD HELP US ALL!
Been there
July 11th, 2012
12:58 pm
Unless you have been in this woman’s shoes you have no idea what she has been through or done to help her daughter these past 19 years. My mother who is nearly 80 is housing and caring for my niece who is 28 and unable to participate in grown up life. She manages to hold a part time job, but is depressed enough to constantly cut her wrists among her many other desperate measures. The state won’t help her get into assisted housing or the proper counseling. So what do you do??? When they are an adult you don’t have the rights to speak for them any more. My mother needs to sell her home and move into senior housing. Where is my niece to go? Her mother either can’t or won’t take care of her. What do you do when you can’t get help from the state? What happens when you are so burned out and can’t go on? Desperate times lead to desperate measures.
GRAPHITE
July 11th, 2012
1:00 pm
FROM THE LOOKS OF THE PICTURE, THERE MUST BE SOME FAMILY INBREEDING GOING ON.
Sissy
July 11th, 2012
1:02 pm
If she wanted to leave her, why didn’t she take her to a better place than a bar? She is asking for some “monster” to rape her or do worst things after they finish drinking and etc. Mom seems “disabled” too. I guess in a few more years or months, the other child will be dropped off too. I know the church members did not agree to that. People are doing worst to their own kids lately anyway– glad she did not hurt her any worst than she already did.
mom
July 11th, 2012
1:03 pm
I think that we should not be so quick to say that the church advised her to do this. It may have been something that was said in a casual conversation with someone after church that they knew someone in TN that said the care of the disabled was good there… Of course it makes a better news story if we can blame the church for this tragic story..
Everyone Will NOT be Parents
July 11th, 2012
1:03 pm
Wow, this is truly a sad & tragic story. I would prefer she give her up in a safer environment, than to drop her off & keep going. Maybe something is wrong with the Mother. I just can’t see a Mother being that cold & heartless to ANY child let alone hers.Someone could take advantage of her & mistreat her being around strangers because most people that are foster parents or work in homes for the elderly & those that are mentally handicapped don’t care anything about these people & won’t do their best in looking out for them.
Brooke
July 11th, 2012
1:04 pm
While I don’t endorse this woman’s actions in any way, I think there really needs to be an outlet for parents who have severly mentally handicapped children such as this. We all are so quick to judge but imagine the way your lives would change if you had a child that was severely handicapped. Have you thought about living expenses? relationships with spouses? the freedom to go out and enjoy dinner? family vacations? the idea that you will never be able to become an “empty nester” and enjoy the years of old age like so many people look forward to? Traveling?
I doubt this lady ever thought she would be driving down to Tennessee 19 years ago when she first found out she was pregnant. She probably had all the good intentions most parents have when finding themselves in a situation like this. I think that after watching their peers children go off to college this mother was overwhelmed by the idea that the “struggle to support her child will never end.” Since the state already has to support this person financially for the rest of their lives, why don’t we create local places where mentally handicapped to live and grow together with supervision. I’m sure the mother would be more than willing to stay involved with her child’s life as long as she could go home and enjoy the livestyles that most of us take for granted. I’m not condoning what this mother did but I think there needs to be a real discussion about how to allow all persons to live their live to the fullest whether or not they are mentally handicapped, have able minded children, or have children who are mentally handicapped.
Don't judge
July 11th, 2012
1:04 pm
Obviously none of you realize the significant burden of caring for a mentally disabled child. This woman felt trapped and wanted her child to have better care than she could provide. States provide very little services for the mentally disabled – until they are abandoned by their families. This is a common practice once the children turn 18 – although most do not leave their children at a rest area. You can’t judge unless you walk in their shoes.
Sissy
July 11th, 2012
1:05 pm
@Been there! You find help for your family member since you know how she feels.
Jesus Christ crushes perverted NWO, DBMs
July 11th, 2012
1:16 pm
@Sad-I beg to differ. You may call what I wrote racism to gain the upper hand over highly emotional people. But most responsible black people would refer to it as the height of responsibility.
I referenced African American women only because I am black. Yes other women do have abortions too. But it would be irresponsible of me to speak to the issues of Jews, whites, Asians, Arabs, etc. when most black people depend on them for their basic needs e.g. food, clothing, shelter, employment, education, etc.
The men and women of those respective groups, Jews, whites, Chinese, Arabs, etc know what is best for their people. Given our condition, any right thinking black person should be the last to speak to the issues of other races.
Amen?
Moses Bixby
July 11th, 2012
1:19 pm
WHITE PEOPLE ARE SO COLD TO THEIR CHILDREN…WHAT A SHAME…I PITY THE CHILDREN OF WHITE PARENTS , AS WELL AS GHETTO BLACK PARENTS
Brooke
July 11th, 2012
1:19 pm
I’m sure I’ll step on some people’s toes here. To be able to live without fear that I could find myself in a situation like this, I’ll pay the extra taxes. $100 bucks a year is well worth it for the peace of mind that I won’t have to fear giving birth to a child who will be loved, but would dictate the way I live the rest of my life.
Native Atlantan
July 11th, 2012
1:22 pm
Tragic indeed but those who continue to say “the system failed” realize that the system is funded by the taxpayers in some form or fashion. We want less of that, right?
anInterestedCitizen
July 11th, 2012
1:22 pm
Let’s walk through this. If the mother had kept the young lady until the mother died, what then? This way, the young lady is placed in an institution and cared for and given a permanent home, one in which she will grow and be accustomed to when she is in her old age. She is habitualized to that place from a young age, and protected.
I have a cousin, who is now in his 60s, whose parents kept him, albeit with weekly visits to an psychiatric institution, until they died in their 70s. He is suffering from severe paranoid schizophrenia. He is completely incapable of caring for himself. He has no sense of responsibility to self. Even to dress he must be supervised, His parents kept him for more than 50 years until they passed on. They had good income and were living close to the psychiatric institution, so they could keep him. Had they not done so, he would have been living in the woods under rocks and trees as a wild man.
It is apparent this mother is alone and without a husband and without the means to care for two, one a child and the other an adult. It is also apparent that she looked at the situation in Chicago and could not, for whatever reason, trust the institutions there. She looked around to seek other places and could not find any, so the members of her church looked around too, and they suggested Tennessee. She probably did choose the right place. And from what I know of my own family’s experience, if you do not have the means to do so, do not attempt to keep an retarded adult until your death. This could have turned into a horrible situation.
All you nay sayers need to offer a better plan. The young lady is now a ward of the state. She will be properly cared for and given a home, protected and comfortable (I hope and pray this will be the case). The problem the mother faced was red tape and bureaucracy. Our rules and procedures have made it almost impossible to ask for help, especially for those who are not advanced in law and medicine, which obviously is not the case with any of that family. She had to cut through all that and quickly lest they be faced with something really dangerous.
I suggest we all put our minds together and find a plan and put it in place before the second child is of age. People, this is an imperative. I fear some of you will take a shameless draconian attitude. Some of you might even think of genetic engineering, euthanasia and abortion. It won’t work. These are special people. Remember the character Boo in “To Kill a Mockingbird.”
Sonikqua
July 11th, 2012
1:25 pm
“She also said her church directed her there…”
If that’s true it just reinforces my own decision to turn my back on organized religion years ago.
Old Violin
July 11th, 2012
1:27 pm
Of all the comments I read, Glenda’s shocked me most ! There seemed to be no concern for the girl, only for the State of Tennessee…..What this lady did was terrible, but I can’t help but be thankful that she didn’t choose to harm or end this child’s life. The fact that she took her to a state that has the number one health care system say’s to me that she was thinking of her daughter too. Sometimes we are forced to do things that we shouldn’t do, and we make mistakes in judgement, but ignoring the need for help for this girl over spending a few of the states tax dollars on her isn’t my way of doing things. Shame on you Glenda, the $ sign seems to be more important than helping a person who is mentally challenged…..
Mel
July 11th, 2012
1:32 pm
I would much rather my state tax dollars take care of someone like this that can’t take care of herself than the lazy free loaders who we have to support. This broke my heart as a parent, a human and a church goer. .. where was her “church family”?
poot whiffs
July 11th, 2012
1:37 pm
i dropped off a fart in TN a few weeks ago @ a biker bar. I could no longer take care of it and keep it in. i hope it didn’t stink up somebody’s bar.
Benjamin
July 11th, 2012
1:39 pm
WOW!!! Galations 6:7,,, What ever a man soweth, that shall he also reap… Thanks Mike.
wut the
July 11th, 2012
1:40 pm
We have things like this going on, and there are people who give a flying rat’s ars about those idiotic Kardashians??
Jesus Christ crushes perverted NWO, DBMs
July 11th, 2012
1:43 pm
@Sad- I should reference Obama at this point but Alex Jones said the Secret Service etc is likely to pay you a visit for your efforts; don’t need that kind of madness in my life.
But I will say that some people believe that “manifest destiny” gives them the right to force their way of life, thinking, and morals on people throughout the entire world.
Amen?
Bobby
July 11th, 2012
1:45 pm
Truly incredible. I cannot believe her church told her where to take her. If anything, the church should have been helping the mother care for the disabled child.
Bobby
July 11th, 2012
1:48 pm
@Jesus A fetus can be aborted. Until such time as the fetus can live outside the womb as a viable human being, it is simply a fetus. And the woman has the right to decide whether or not to carry the fetus to term. Once a baby born that discretion ends.
NotYou
July 11th, 2012
1:54 pm
You are all taking the mothers word that the “church recommended” doing this, etc. Let’s put things in perspective. She just dumped her child who she claims is 19 and you want to take her word for everything? Wow.
NotYou
July 11th, 2012
1:56 pm
@Bobby – “simply a fetus”…you are “simply an idiot”. Disgusting.
And?
July 11th, 2012
1:57 pm
Sounds to me like the mom is full of it… Her church most likely did advise her to do this and she only stopped in TN because it was far enough away and she would not get caught. Besides, if this woman TRULY wanted her daughter to get help, she would not have left her on the side of the road where no telling what would happen to her. She would leave her somewhere safe like a fire station. This woman got caught and she is scrambling to cover her butt.
And?
July 11th, 2012
1:58 pm
I meant her church most likely DID NOT advise her to do this.
hokie4life
July 11th, 2012
2:05 pm
Reading this, all I could think was..”this woman is gonna burn in hell” It’s your child….not a piece of trash. They need to take away the other disable child.
Nesy
July 11th, 2012
2:29 pm
More than likely the mother is mentally ill herself and cannot take care of her mentally ill children. This is why people with mental illness should never have children. They do not have the mental and emotional capacity to handle the extra stress of dealing with the extrenous burden of nursing and caring for mentally ill children and themselves too.
Godawgs75
July 11th, 2012
2:40 pm
She is from Ill. same place as Obama, the govt probably didnt pay her enough to keep her. What did you expect from a state Obama came from.
Penny
July 11th, 2012
2:48 pm
Not going to judge her cause I haven’t walked in her shoes. I can’t imagine having one disabled child, let alone TWO. People in this situation need help!!
I’m with you, Keri.
Dana P.
July 11th, 2012
2:53 pm
That is really disturbing.
Once, when driving from Ohio to Atlanta, my car broke down in Caryville, TN and I had to stay there for two days. I will say that was one of friendliest towns I have ever been in! The people were incredibly nice and friendly. The hotel staff (at the now demolished Christmas Tree Inn) treated me like royalty! As did the folks at the diner across the street. If someone were going to dump a diabled child off somewhere, God forbid, I’d say they couldn’t chose a better place than Caryville, TN.
Did ya wonder?
July 11th, 2012
2:56 pm
So I am sure that all of you horrified people are quite willing to take in a 19 year old disabled ADULT with the mental capacity of a toddler. Any takers?
Thought not.
As for the mother, dumb move on her part. But she probably had few choices. States are not so willing to help when adults have mental illness.
Remember…Matthew 7:1
Divine
July 11th, 2012
3:01 pm
Who leaves their child like this? I can answer that question and that is a person who never should’ve become a mother to begin with. She has another mentally handicapped child who will most likely be abandoned as well. I don’t understand how you cannot charge the mother, HELLO…the mental capacity of a toddler and not a 19 year old. I pray that this young lady can be placed with someone worthy of her presence.
Matty
July 11th, 2012
3:06 pm
Enter your comments here
Matty
July 11th, 2012
3:07 pm
well at least we know where her children get the mental disability from….
Jesus Christ crushes perverted NWO, DBMs
July 11th, 2012
3:08 pm
@NotYou– Amen!
NotSam
July 11th, 2012
3:09 pm
Special needs children and adults take a lot of work. Obviously this woman had more than she could handle. Where was her support system since not at her church? Where’s the father? She did what she thought was best, but decisions made while stressed are not always best. Luckily the daughter did not suffer at the hands of someone when left.
Jenna
July 11th, 2012
3:19 pm
I think this young woman is better off in the care of the state. You can criticize this mother all you want, but she did leave her daughter where she would have care and be tended to. That is more than some might have done. Do I think it’s right to abandon your child? Nope. But I haven’t walked in this woman’s shoes and neither have any of you. Tend to your own families and put as much effort into them as you have to the plight of this stranger and then you’ll have actually done some good with all the energy your instead spending on your righteous indignation.
joe suggs
July 11th, 2012
3:25 pm
It is her child !!! Who is supposed to support her ? Where is the father ?
Tonya
July 11th, 2012
3:27 pm
This is not sad the mom didn’t know any better she is mentally challanged to just look at her.
Jon Lake
July 11th, 2012
3:28 pm
Gee, wouldn’t it be a shame if “Mom” were to slip and fall down the steps while leaving the police station.
Susan
July 11th, 2012
3:30 pm
This is a darn shame!
real deal is...
July 11th, 2012
3:35 pm
NO EXCUSE P E R I O D
Melodie
July 11th, 2012
3:36 pm
I am in such a quandary about these types of stories. I have had friends, family members, church members and coworkers that have handicapped children and this woman has 2. You never get a full nights sleep, you never get to enjoy a quite meal, watch TV, go on vacation or even just take a walk. Your child requires full time 24/7/365 care. There is no help. There is no relief. I didn’t see the childs age but she is over 18. That means in addition to caring for her, she has the mental capacity of a toddler, she also has to assist her in bathing, going to the bathroom and taking care of her female issues. She also has to worry about pregnancy and monthly uh, hm, cleanliness, in other words her period. She can not do anything about that unless the child agrees because the child is an adult. You have children you expect them to grow up, have their own life, you never expect to have to take care of them forever. I can not even BEGIN to imagine the nightmare that is. People that don’t know say “these children are so sweet natured” ah no. I have been around ones that are angry and mean. Think about it, a toddler???? She can’t even dress herself or feed herself how many years can you DO that? You love your children but your entire life is them. You never get any time to yourself and how about your marriage? Do you ever get any time together? Alone? Sex? What about finances? That means only one of you can work and when that person gets home they have to help as well. No relief, a miserable life. I hurt for them all
Southside
July 11th, 2012
3:38 pm
I do not condone what she did, but unless you have been the parent of a severely disabled child, you do not know the stress and pressure that comes with it. This happens more than people realize, but it is seldom reported. In Griffin a few years ago a woman was charged with killing her two disabled children because she could not longer deal with it. As the parent of a disabled child, I can relate to both of them, although I would not go to that extremee. From most of the comments, it appears that majority of the readers do not have clue what it is like to deal with a disabled child.
vicki
July 11th, 2012
3:38 pm
Realy….if this woman was capable to dumping her disabled daughter off at a public restroom and driving off….isnt the child better off with the State of Tennessee – instead of her mother??? The mother must have been abusing her – or at least neglecting her. How sad….hopefully someone will give this young teen a better life…she deserves it!!. The mother has to live with herself!!
Jesus Christ crushes perverted NWO, DBMs
July 11th, 2012
3:42 pm
Let’s take Bobby’s logic @1:48 to its conclusion. If the person who shot a black woman in the head recently and left her in the road to die was not black, wouldn’t he/she be justified in killing her?
After all, 99.99% of black people can’t survive in society without the direct life sustaining support of other races. They are totally dependent on them for their basic needs, food, clothing, shelter, employment, education, healthcare etc…
Bobby’s logic dictates that black people are simply fetuses and can be killed at any time by those providing life sustaining support.
Amen?
End of her rope
July 11th, 2012
3:57 pm
I don’t condone the parent’s actions, but I can empathise. They took care of that disabled child for 18 years. There is another disabled child at home. How hard do you think that is to do? The trouble is that there isn’t enough support for parents with severly disabled children. What will happen to the children when the parents aren’t physically able to take care of them anymore? I suspect that is what happended. Remeber your toddler’s reasoning and behavior? Now put that reasoning and behavior in the body of an adult. Remember the toddler’s “tantrums?” What does an 18 year old toddler “tantrum” look like. Not many older women can physically handle this. Don’t judge the parent. She may have done the best she could do.
Diana
July 11th, 2012
4:00 pm
I feel sorry for both of them. The mother shouldn’t be expected to still provide such intensive care to a child who is 19 years old. That is unreasonable. I’ve personally seen animals rebuff their young from nursing once the parent feels they are too old, and humans are animals after all. I’m sure the mother is exhausted and tired of dealing with someone who will never be more mature than a toddler. It’s a sad situation for everyone, Mom, daughter, and state/taxpayers.
bishop long
July 11th, 2012
4:05 pm
This is a very sad story………………but the church told her to do it. Damn, the hell with church!
Spring-Fresh
July 11th, 2012
4:10 pm
Tammt, How dare you sit up and make jokes about this humanbeing. I guarantee you are nothing nice to look at.
Jesus Christ crushes perverted NWO, DBMs
July 11th, 2012
4:11 pm
Now you understand why we believe that black women are in left field when they lend support to their “right to choose”
They and others are unconsciously giving credence to the elite’s right to choose whether we live or die.
Amen?
And?
July 11th, 2012
4:19 pm
Turns out she dropped her off at a bar with NO money and NO identification. What a horrible human being.
mel
July 11th, 2012
4:27 pm
I will absolutely judge this woman. How can you “care” for a living human being for 19 years and think the best way to make her life easier is to simply throw her away. Yeah..in a bar…because nothing bad ever happends to people there. And “at least she didn’t kill her” SERIOUSLY!! This is one of the most obscene things EVER. No, I don’t know what it is like to be responsible for a handicapped child but I do know what it is to have compassion. I understand being at the end of your rope…ASK FOR HELP! This is a living, feeling person. I have seen more people get upset about dumping their pets.. What is wrong with the world when someone can do this and have people stick up for her? No, she does not get a pass with this. Her daughter is mentally a child. But I guess sense she is legally an “adult” what she did was ok. Are you kidding?!?!?! I was firends with someone in school whose sister was a 22 year old but she had the mental capacity of a 9 year old. There is no way in the world would her mother have done this. And she was a single mother at that. That is the key word…MOTHER….some people just shouldn’t be mothers. Do the world a favor and stop reproducing if you are just going to dispose of your children.
mel
July 11th, 2012
4:30 pm
And the best she could would have done would have been to place her in a SAFE environment! Not at some bar 600 miles from home..
Brett
July 11th, 2012
4:45 pm
Isn’t there a better way to turn a developmentally disabled adult to the care of the state than dropping her off at a bar in Tennessee without warning? My Lord.
Annie
July 11th, 2012
4:49 pm
This is sad, but the daughter is better off away from her nutty mother. Not everyone is equipped to handle children who have special needs (or children, period), but there was a better way to get help. There are agencies who could have helped her get her daughter placed in an adult facility, so she didn’t have to dump her. Anything could have happened to her, so thankfully she’s alright.
Did ya wonder?
July 11th, 2012
4:51 pm
Calm down Mel.
Go adopt a 19 year ol;d with a toddlers brain. Then you can shout your self-righteous indignation in ALL CAPS!
Heartfelt
July 11th, 2012
4:54 pm
Bless you ExNuYawker. We share your sentiments exactly. Ms. Lynn Cameron is welcome to live with our family anytime as well.
Brooke
July 11th, 2012
4:55 pm
-mel. As somebody whose been around quite a few mentally handicapped children, there is absolutely positively NO COMPARISON between somebody with the mental capacity of a 9 Year old and somebody with the mental capacity of a 2 Year old. I think a lot of people would actually find that comparison to be quite offending.
hypocrites all of you
July 11th, 2012
4:57 pm
if this woman had committed a crime you morons would be chomping at the bit to lock her up and throw away the key. if you don’t want mentally ill adults abandoned, then pony up some tax money and arrange for some social services. there are people like her in jail in every county in the country.
get off your high horse. You all can’t see past the end of your own noses. People will send a 14 year old to death row, but scream bloody murder for turning a 19 year old loose. you people make me sick. you are all like a cancer growing rampant on God’s green earth.
Caroline
July 11th, 2012
5:28 pm
I have not read all the comments, but I do wonder one thing: how many people that commented here actually are parent to a handicapped child? Do you have even any idea about how much energy and strength it takes to raise a handicapped child? Do you know anything about this mother’s situation in general, especially with her having ANOTHER mentally disabled child? Because my son is handicapped too, I love him to death, but I was on the verge of going crazy myself many many times. This woman has cared for her daughter for 19 years. Almost two decades of constant work, therapy, fear, hope for things to get better. Which probably did not happen after some point. No doubt, what this woman did is very wrong, nobody should be just dropped off somewhere, ever! And I can assure you, that woman has not had one night of good sleep since she did that. But: none of you know this woman’s background, this woman’s reason, this woman’s strength which has probably simply come to an end. So stop judging; walk in HER shoes for one week and maybe you will be able to understand what she did.
Caroline
July 11th, 2012
5:40 pm
And Gwinnett Mom: learn how to write before you go name-calling! You are the one who should be ashamed of themselves!
Willydoit?
July 11th, 2012
6:09 pm
The adult strength with the mind of a toddler!!
Imagine having to deal with that day and night for the rest of your life.
I feel sorry for both of them.
andrea
July 11th, 2012
6:26 pm
That’s crazy if she is illegally not mentally capable then she should be charged anything ciuld have happen to her. In if she wanted the best for her she could have dropped her off at one of those places. Hold people accountable for what they do.
Annie
July 11th, 2012
7:13 pm
Ignoring the pointless racist comments, I think that most people realize that it is hard to take care of a developmentally disabled adult. But, the problem and judgement comes from the mother’s actions. Nobody would want this child to be in her care, there’s no telling what type of abuse she’s doled out onto her daughter, but the right thing to do would have been too take her to a hospital, even if it’s in Tennessee, and make sure that she is taken care of. There’s no excuse for dumping her at a bar, where anything could have happened to her.
Lenor Ericson
July 11th, 2012
8:47 pm
We LEFT Tennessee because it had absolutely no funding for our severely disabled adult daughter! So I do not know where this nutty (and disgusting) “mom” is getting her information! To just drop her precious daughter off like this is untenable & unthinkable! Our adult daughter, in addition to being mentally disabled, requires total physical care as well, & we have hung in there for 24 plus years. There is no excuse in the world for what this lady has done & she should be put in jail for the rest of her miserable life!
Joe
July 12th, 2012
12:16 am
After reading this story I became LIVID with this mother. From me being a former Physical Education (helper) in the disabled class at her high school I personally know Lynn. Aside from the occasional teasing by sticking out her tongue and pointing, she was a good student. Because she tried, and if she failed, she would try again. NOT GIVE UP. And she DID NOT deserve this what so ever.
louise
July 12th, 2012
4:03 am
why is no neglect law to protect this woman.She should have left her at a hospital or police station for her safety. Why they don’t take the other one before it winds up on some other state door way dead or mamed. What church tells you to take your mentall ill child and leave them in harms way a bar. I would change my membership quick. And shame nyou Glenda God makes a way for all things he created
Breanna
July 12th, 2012
4:36 pm
Im from caryville and this is so sad at least she could have put her up for adoption instead of leaving her at a bar where drunks go. I mean she could have been killed or anything. shes blessed now though and with people that will take better care of her.
SNAFU
July 12th, 2012
4:50 pm
And the CHURCH told her to take the child to Tennessee! another religious whacko!! WOW..Just because she is an adult in age her mental capacity does not allow her to rationalize as an adult or even a child. The majority of the people today are bunch of selfish POS who expect others to either take care of them or the children THEY bring into this world. So now she is tired, well, she decided to bring this child in this world she needs to take the responsibility, oh, wait, no, the CHURCH told her not too!
LaTonya
July 13th, 2012
8:54 am
My heart goes out to her daughter. How could a church advise her to do that, a church is a place for healing, love and compassion. If they are true believers in Christ, they should have pitched in and given her the help she needed.
Norma
July 15th, 2012
7:52 pm
Enter your comments hereWhat kind of church sent her to Tennessee instead of taking on the responsibility biblically? We as Christians are admonished to take care of our widows and orphans. I would consider this young lady an orphan and the church where they came from should be ashamed of themselves.