Mother Murders Her Two Children

I was driving into work this morning when I heard about the following story.  A 30 year old Texas woman, Saiqa Akhter called 911 to tell the dispatcher that she killed her two kids.  After telling the operator that she killed the children, she proceeds to inform her how she did the act.  First, she tried to poison them by getting them to drink bathroom cleaner.  When that didn't work, she used a wire to strangle the kids.

The next part of the story is the reason this particular murder of a child by a parent caught my attention.  When the 911 operator asked her why she killed her kids, I was floored.  Among her reason  for killing her kids were that her kids were both autistic, and she did not want her kids to be that way.  She wanted her kids to be "normal."

As the father of a 16 year old autistic boy, I know all too well the difficulty and disappointment in having a child with autism.  It is a lot of work.  For most of my son's life, I have worked two jobs so that my wife is able to stay home with him.  When I am not working, I am usually engaged with him in some way, shape or form.  There is very little me time or couple time for me and my wife.  I can't begin to tell you how tired I am.

I don't say these things because I want anybody to feel sorry for me, or pat me on the back and call me a great dad.  I only say it because I know how hard it is and how easy it is to get frustrated.  Trust me, I am no saint, and on more than one occasion I have lost my patience, but never to the point where I would harm my child.

Aside from the obvious of no longer having her kids around, Akhter is really going to miss out.  In the 16 years of having my son around, quite often the things that make dealing with him difficult are the things that make him an absolute joy.  How many fathers of a 16 year old boy can say their son will sit on the couch with him and lay his head on daddy's chest when he is tired?  The laughter that comes from my son when he plays a video game the "wrong way" is just priceless and reminds me that games are supposed to be fun.

There are very few things in this life that I have a zero tolerance for.  Crimes against children and the defenseless are one of those.  In cases like this, I believe in the full force of any punishment the government can mete out.  In fact, in cases like this, I do not believe there is anything such thing as "cruel and unusual punishment."  Authorities are preparing capital murder charges against her, as well they should.  The punishment should fit the crime.

Related articles by Zemanta

• Texas Mom: Kids' Autism Drove Me to Kill (foxnews.com)
• "Saiqa Akhter Couldn't Be Burdened With Two Autistic Children Any More" and related posts (theweeklyvice.com)
• 911: Mom Strangled Kids Because They're Autistic (cbsnews.com)
• Listen to 911 call from Irving mother who says she killed her two children (crimeblog.dallasnews.com)

John Allen Muhammad

Image via Wikipedia

Tonight, barring any last minute stays, John Allen Muhammad will be executed by lethal injection in the great commonwealth of Virginia.  The United States Supreme Court has already decided not to hear any appeals on behalf of Muhammad.  I say, "Good riddance."

Seven years ago, Muhammad along with his accomplice Lee Boyd Malvo went on a shooting spree in the DC area.  None of the victims had anything in common, nor did they have any relationship with the pair.  Their only crime was being in the proximity of the killers when they struck. 

The total randomness of the violent acts kept the DC area on edge until the two were caught.  Personally, I remember constantly keeping my head on a swivel trying to observe everything that was going on around me.  I remember stopping to get gas one night and deliberately leaving my car door open to act as a barrier to any potential attack.  The attacks hit real close to home when a child was shot outside of a school here in my home town of Bowie.

Generally speaking, I do not have strong feelings about capital punishment these days.  In years past, I was very much for capital punishment.  On the abortion debate, I have always been pro-life.  When I studied Buddhism, I started to rethink my position on capital punishment.  I questioned how I could call for the sanctity of life in one case but not the other.  Now, I tend to lean towards capital punishment being the exception rather than the rule.

Not so in the case of John Calvin Muhammad.  I can't say it any other way, so excuse me for being so blunt.  I want him dead.  It would be fair to ask why the Muhammad case would draw such a response.  It is because I am first and foremost a father.  Seven years ago, my then 8 year old son, was terrified by the events of the day.  He would run into my bedroom late at night and say to me, "No news, Daddy.  No TV."  With his autism, he was unable to tell us everything he was feeling, but I had never seen his so frightened.  All I know is that anybody that could instill such fear in my child is worthy of my wrath.  If it were within my power, I would pummel him with my bare hands.  So for John Allen Muhammad, good riddance.

Related articles by Zemanta

• Supreme Court won't halt D.C. sniper's execution (cnn.com)
• How the DC snipers hacked an ex-police car to make a killing machine (boingboing.net)
• Families see justice in sniper's execution (msnbc.msn.com)
• 'Beltway sniper' loses bid to halt execution (network.nationalpost.com)