Williams Abuse Trial - Hana Alemu/Hannah Williams - Merge

[lemonhead]

HALLEUJAH!! FINALLY!! Sadly though, I don't think think Mike Pearl will ever be indicted for for what he writes. People who write shit like that never are. But I would love to see him have his ass handed to him and outed and exposed on a global scale for the horrible human being he is.

I would love that, too. Maybe people would stop buying his books. But more than that, I want HIM to suffer, I want--in my fantasy world--for someone to beat the shit out of him and not stop until he is humiliated and broken. I don't believe in an afterlife of eternal reward or punishment, so this will never happen. He will never face justice.

[copper]

Can someone share the link where the Pearls were discussed in court? I didn't see it in the Skagit County Herald news or the blog linked on this post. Just curious as to what exactly was discussed. Were they talking about the theological foundation for the Pearl's teachings--children are evil from birth and must be beaten to obtain salvation--to show motive? Or were they linking the discipline tactics in the book to what the Williams family did?

[Palimpsest]

Can someone share the link where the Pearls were discussed in court? I didn't see it in the Skagit County Herald news or the blog linked on this post. Just curious as to what exactly was discussed. Were they talking about the theological foundation for the Pearl's teachings--children are evil from birth and must be beaten to obtain salvation--to show motive? Or were they linking the discipline tactics in the book to what the Williams family did?

IIRC, the references to TTUAC are in the original "Probable Cause" document (I think the link is on the In Memory of Hana Alemu Williams Facebook page) when a "friend" came forward with the information. Also in the testimony of a knitting group member a few days ago (probably the same person.)

I hope this helps. Sorry, I don't have time to find the links for you just now.

The trial transcripts are not yet available -- or if they are, I haven't found them.

[copper]

Thank you, Palimpsest. I saw the reference in the probable cause document. I think today the dectives are supposed to take the stand and discuss more about the evidence from the scene. I am hoping that the link to TTUAC is discussed in great detail.

[Palimpsest]

You are welcome! Sorry to be in such a rush.

This is probably the best site for links to most of the trial coverage at the moment: whynottrainachild.com/

ETA. Broke the link

[RosyDaisy]

From the entry "Why Blame the Pearls At All"

The household cat who, regardless of protest, door barring and foot swinging, is occasionally allowed to stay in the house will take the occasional success as impetus to always try to get in. If he is consistently kept out (100% of the time), he will not come in, even when the door is left open. The cat, allowed to occasionally get its way, is trained, despite your protests, to come into the house. If you kick it hard enough and often enough, it will become sufficiently wary to obey while you remain on guard but will still bolt through the door when it sees the opportunity. On the other hand, dogs, thirty-five times smarter than cats, can be trained either to come in or stay out upon command. The key again is consistency. If the dog learns through conditioning (consistent behavior on the part of the trainer) that he will never be allowed to violate his master’s command, he will always obey. If parents carefully and consistently train up a child, his or her performance will be as consistently satisfying as that rendered by a well trained seeing-eye dog.

WTF??? Comparing a cat to a dog and then tying it in to child "training"? :wtf: . I hope the next time MP encounters a cat, it launches a full on wild attack on his evil ass! :shifty-kitty: :cussing:

[copper]

Anyone heard if Larry, the supreme Patriarch, is still employed by Boeing?

KING5 the local news, referred to him as a former Boeing employee. He is in jail now for trying to conntact one of the kids.

[2xx1xy1JD]

I don't know about Washington, but here trial transcripts are not available until long after the trial.

The case against these people seems strong. If you actually had a child who had ODD, or bulimia, or any of the other medical or psychiatric conditions alleged by the defense, a normal parent would be taking that child to doctors and/or therapists. These parents adopted Hana - they weren't just a couple of kids too young and stupid to parent, they deliberately brought her into their home. Any reasonable person would see that treatment as cruel.

[starfish]

KING5 the local news, referred to him as a former Boeing employee. He is in jail now for trying to conntact one of the kids.

Thanks.

I knew his bond had been revoked for trying to send messages to his biological children. I think Carrie's was also, but she

was able to make bond. I wonder if she's living in their house.

[starfish]

I was wondering if they had to sell their house to pay their legal fees, or if they had court-appointed attorneys.

[Palimpsest]

This story is just heartrending. The Pearls' teachings are horrendous, but Carri and Larry Williams added some sadistic twists to TTUAC methods that they thought up all by themselves. These details are being confirmed in the testimony of their own bio children.

Lightofdaystories.wordpress.com has an interesting new entry looking at the wider implications of Hana's death. I actually think Adoption Advocates International should also be on trial for this case. I cannot see how they could have placed the two children in this home, and how they seem to have fallen down on the follow-through and monitoring of the adoptions.

I agree with Maureen at Lightofdaystories that many stakeholders are watching this trial carefully. On the other hand, the trial is not getting national attention. Perhaps because Hana was not white, was a teenager, and was/is victim-blamed as "rebellious."

I've also been following the progress of the Washington State bill HB 1675, AKA "Hana's Law." It hasn't passed yet.

I'm hoping for convictions and prison time for both Carri and Larry. Their defense seems remarkably weak, but who knows what will happen.

[Palimpsest]

I hope the judge knows what she is doing here. This little boy has already been through so much and now he is being bullied by the defense over the definition of spanking. When does "asked and answered" come in?

http://www.kirotv.com/news/news/adopted ... and/nZJjR/ (news link no need to break.)

WTF! Per Pearl: "spanking" = being hit with weapons like plumbing line and spatulas. "Hitting" = an open hand. I'd put it the other way around, and I disapprove of all corporal punishment. I suppose the Pearls have no definition for "beating" on the soles of your feet and all over your body.

Which definition is the court using for "spanking?" One hopes that the defense attorney's aggressive questioning of Immanuel will play badly with the jury. OTOH, WA allows "spanking" so long as it doesn't leave marks.

I hope this jury gets it. :cry:

--

[starfish]

It sounds like the defense is trying to make this a referendum on spanking.

Prosecution needs to remind everyone it's a homicide case.

Pretty clear difference.

[starfish]

I wonder about the composition of the jury. Men/Women, professionals, working class, etc.

[chaotic life]

No, Pearl actually testified in Sean Paddock's trial, claiming his methods were misapplied. They were also referenced in Lydia Schatz's case. Hanna is sadly the third adoptee whose death has been linked, even in court records.

[starfish]

There are some interesting comments from individuals from various homeschool coop/Christian groups who are on

the Remembrance of Hanna Williams facebook. They all claim to hate her now, and talk about how legalistic she

was.

They also say she made the kids wear Little House of the Prairie type outfits to church and sit perfectly in

age order in the pews.

Gah!

[Palimpsest]

I'm just bumping Hana Alemu's thread back to the front page here.

This trial is still not getting national attention.

Where we left it on Friday, the jury may decide to dump the "homicide by abuse" charge. Why? Because the jury may choose to believe the vague testimony of a white dentist (who said she could have been any age between 13 and 18) over the testimony of her blood relative who remembers her birth and has an entry in the family bible to prove that she was not yet 16 when she died.

Hana died due to hypothermia, malnutrition and prolonged, deliberate, and purposeful malicious neglect. And lack of treatment for her H. Pylori and Giardia.

She was also tortured. Beaten. Her head was shaved as "punishment." She was treated as less than human because she had Hepatitis B and did not conform to the norms expected by these adoptive "parents."

She was forced to use a portapotty and hosed down outdoors in all weathers instead of showers. She was fed wet sandwiches and frozen vegetables. She was locked in a closet for 23 hours at a time.

Little Immanuel has confirmed all of this and has his own experiences of torture at the hands of the Williamses.

I do wish this trial would get attention from the national press.

[starfish]

Where in the heck is Nancy Grace????? This is so her kind of thing, when she is not dumping all over Duke Lacrosse players.

Geraldo? Sean Hannity? Katie Couric? Oprah? Anderson Cooper?

----Crickets chirping-------

:angry-banghead:

[dianapavelovna]

Where in the heck is Nancy Grace????? This is so her kind of thing, when she is not dumping all over Duke Lacrosse players.

Pretty white girls only.

[lemonhead]

Where in the heck is Nancy Grace????? This is so her kind of thing, when she is not dumping all over Duke Lacrosse players.

Geraldo? Sean Hannity? Katie Couric? Oprah? Anderson Cooper?

----Crickets chirping-------

:angry-banghead:

I am kind of surprised Anderson Cooper hasn't picked this up. I think he has reported on Pearl in the past, and this is more than tangentially connected to that particular redneck asshat.

[starfish]

You can tell I don't like Nancy Grace much. She's a legend in her own mind. It doesn't really surprise me that she's not covering this trial. She probably doesn't want to bother learning to pronounce Hana's Ethiopian name. She is supremely lazy in her

reporting, in my humble opinion.

But I'm truly disappointed in Anderson Cooper. :(

[starfish]

And I wanted to beg once more for any FJites in the Seattle area to consider attending the trial.

[Muriel Heslop]

There are some interesting comments from individuals from various homeschool coop/Christian groups who are on

the Remembrance of Hanna Williams facebook. They all claim to hate her now, and talk about how legalistic she

was.

They also say she made the kids wear Little House of the Prairie type outfits to church and sit perfectly in

age order in the pews.

Gah!

Are these sites publicly accessible? I would like to see the discussion/comments. TIA

[starfish]

Are these sites publicly accessible? I would like to see the discussion/comments. TIA

There is a facebook site called "Remembrance of Hannah Williams". Here goes my feeble attempt to provide a link: https://www.facebook.com/#!/groups/hana.alemu/

Look for the comment by Darcy Craig on Aug. 9. I know I saw some fellow homeschooling coop members come forward

there and comment under Darcy's topic. it seems like the most outrage has come from sane, adoptive parents of Ethiopian children,

as well as the Ethiopian community.

[tropaka]

someone (in the US) should shoot an email to CNN etc....