Sparkling Adventures Pt 10 - David Pleads Guilty - Merge

[sparkles]

Jesus, since Elijah's death was such a neutral event and all,  I wouldn't be surprised if she welcomed him back with open arms. 

[Cactus]

Given that David was held in psychiatric confinement, does he need a statement or something from doctors before he can be released? By the sounds of the article his mental health has improved, but I would be concerned if he were released simply because the courts say he can and not because he is now sufficiently low-risk.

I suspect what the article means by 'forgiveness' and what Lauren means by it are very different things.

[princessmahina]

Wow, that's...not much time at all for killing your own child.

[lilith]

Was just coming to post this. The Australia. Women's Weekly reports that he'd been taking mescaline, which is a pretty heavy psychedelic, especially for someone with shaky mental health to begin with.

The sentence doesn't surprise me - he pleaded to manslaughter, so the court obviously accepted that he didn't have a premeditated plan to kill Elijah and couldn't be held fully responsible.

My phone won't let me copy links, but if you google "Australian Women's Weekly David Fisher" the article will come up

It doesn't seem that Lauren and the girls attended the sentencing - she was instagramming her "#seeaustralia" crap from Victoria today. I wonder if she submitted a victim's impact statement explaining that she saw the death of her son as a neutral event?

Interesting they refer to her as his now ex wife - I wonder if they have actually divorced? Doing so would probably entail the sale of their home in a property settlement, which may explain why she's set up a new home base in Victoria

[AmazonGrace]

Why is drug abuse a mitigating factor when you kill somebody?

[Paperplate]

Oh, wow. He may be out by the end of this year!

 

Have the girls had contact with him recently?

[Whoosh]

I am just giving two brief answers to questions as to how things work in the USA although both issues go much deeper.  With respect to psychiatric confinement vs. sentence - if an individual is deemed in need of mental health treatment, they may be sentenced to time in a psychiatric facility rather than prison or jail.  They will not be let out simply because the time of their sentence is up.  Essentially, once the sentence has run, the person will be dealt with using the same standards applied to a run-of-the-mill psychiatric patient.  If they present a danger to themselves or others, they may well be held in psychiatric treatment well past the end of their sentence.  However, the standard for involuntary confinement is high.  Further, in the US, even if a person would voluntarily commit, it is not always easy to get insurance to pay unless stringent criteria are met.

Drug abuse can be a mitigating factor if the crime does not have to do with procurement, sale, trafficking etc. of drugs.  The reasoning behind this is that one of the reasons for incarceration is to prevent the offender from reoffending.  So, if you commit a crime due to extraordinary circumstances that are unlikely to happen again, that will be a mitigating factor.  With addiction and substance use/abuse, if it is determined that being under the influence played a significant role in the commission of a crime AND there is evidence that the person has or will commit to sobriety and rehab, then that reduces the likelihood that the person will reoffend and therefore is seen as a mitigating factor.

Again, these are somewhat decent, but simplistic explanations.

ETA - added that I am speaking for how things work in the United States.  
E2TA a bit more detail

[lilith]

In Australia (or at least NSW - he was sentenced in QLD, but the systems are similar, though not identical):

Drug use is not in itself a mitigating factor but insanity is, and that includes drug induced psychosis.

He will not be released if he is deemed to be a danger to himself or others. This will be determined by a magistrate sitting on a Mental Health Review Tribunal. He will have legal representation for this and his doctors and other carers will give evidence. Taking medication and staying under the care of a psychiatrist and following the psychiatrist's recommendations can and likely will be a condition of parole.

I am curious about what sort of contact he will have with his daughters upon release. He used to be their primary and most consistent caregiver.

The fact that a plea to manslaughter, as opposed to murder, was accepted makes me think that the people involved with his case have decided to focus on rehabilitation rather than punitive actions.

All treatment will be covered by Medicare (public health), but he's extremely lucky he was able to obtain a private barrister to help him obtain the best treatment and result in court. We would be looking at a very different outcome if he had to go with Legal Aid (public defender). I'm assuming Lauren paid for his defence in cold hard cash, not as an energy exchange within the "new economy".

[Bearos]

Guys - the trial has happened and concluded.  David has been found guilty, but with time served could be out before the end of THIS YEAR.

http://www.brisbanetimes.com.au/queensland/dad-pleads-guilty-over-baby-death-in-logan-river-20151102-gkojhq.html

Synthetic cannabis, cactus powder, underlying psych issues...

 

[lilith]

Guys - the trial has happened and concluded.  David has been found guilty, but with time served could be out before the end of THIS YEAR.

http://www.brisbanetimes.com.au/queensland/dad-pleads-guilty-over-baby-death-in-logan-river-20151102-gkojhq.html

Synthetic cannabis, cactus powder, underlying psych issues...

 

We have a thread on this. He didn't go to trial, he pleaded guilty to manslaughter

Guys - the trial has happened and concluded.  David has been found guilty, but with time served could be out before the end of THIS YEAR.

http://www.brisbanetimes.com.au/queensland/dad-pleads-guilty-over-baby-death-in-logan-river-20151102-gkojhq.html

Synthetic cannabis, cactus powder, underlying psych issues...

 

We have a thread on this. He didn't go to trial, he pleaded guilty to manslaughter

[lilith]

One more thing - he would have had to be deemed competent for his guilty plea to be accepted, so it seems he has stabilised.

[2xx1xy1JD]

If the definitions are similar to the Canadian definitions, manslaughter means that he was doing something wrong and his conduct led to Elijah's death, but that he didn't necessarily intend to cause Elijah's death.

The drug use isn't exactly a "get out of jail free" card.  Since he's also been charged with drug offenses, he was doing something illegal and contributed to his own impaired mental state.  In that way, it's a bit different from simply being not guilty by reason of insanity.  Nevertheless, it sounds like he intended to take some drugs, already had a degree of underlying mental instability, was somewhat reckless in going for a walk with Elijah in that condition, but that he didn't set out that night intending to kill Elijah.

[blessalessi]

I don't remember reading about the divorce.  Is that something Lauren has written about?

It seems very strange that David was considered unfit to plead for so long, but then as soon as he became fit to plead, he was given a sentence that would free him almost immediately.

I wonder what the standard is for being judged fit for parenting?  Or if/how the children will be prepared for reuniting with him?

From the bare bones of the story in the article, and the articles on the Sparkling blog, it sounds as though David has admitted to using drugs to cope with the pain of a very dysfunctional lifestyle and relationship with Lauren. 

I wonder what on earth happens next?

Those poor children.

[Mary C Doates]

Thanks for the updates--I think lots of people here were wondering if the case had ever been concluded.

[morri]

Seeing the kids live in the stics I soubt they hear much about whats going on.

[nelliebelle1197]

I would not take the sentence at face value. Something similar to civil commitment here in the US may follow. And you have to remember the US justice system is much more focused on just locking people up like animals while other countries have much more rehabilitative and effective approaches to criminal justice.

 

 

 

I

[lilith]

Seeing the kids live in the stics I soubt they hear much about whats going on.

They're staying in regional Victoria, not out in the sticks, and they all have wifi enabled iPads.

[apandaaries]

I'm very curious about how Lauren will respond and if he'll have contact with the children. Does anyone know how that might play out? Would (or could) he have supervised visits with them? Or if Lauren, with her sparkling forgiveness and neutrality, decided to take him back, would that be allowed? Would probation confine him to one area of Australia, or would he be allowed to move freely about the country?

He seemed so much more involved in the girls' lives than Lauren did, before the horrors.  It would be lovely if the girls had a therapist to speak with. 

[morri]

Do they I am surprised, Last I saw they were photographing the wonders of spring in tasmania

[IreneIssh]

It will be interesting to see if Lauren talks about this on the blog at all. Has she mentioned David in a while? 

[morri]

not on her instagram which is the only place i follow her usually.

[AngelGirl8811]

Wow! That doesn't seem like a lot of time but manslaughter doesn't usually carry a long time (at least not here in Canada). This has to be hard on the girls even if they don't really know what's going on with their Dad. He's still their father. I hope Lauren gets them real help. 

[happy atheist]

He killed a baby and he might be out this year? That's terrible.

[LovelyLuna]

they might be divorced? thats not very authentic or neutral. I am worried for the girls, they have been taught to repress their emotions and now this persona non grata may be back in their lives. I know he is their father (and all the rights he/they deserve), I just worry about their sanity. 

[docmom]

She does call herself a "single" woman so I assume she does not consider herself to be married to David any more.