On July 18, 2014, two-year-old Cooper Harris was left by his father Ross Harris in the back seat of a hot car for at least seven hours. When Ross Harris got in the car and began driving, but when he realized that Cooper was still in the car, he pulled over and called for help. Cooper Harris was pronounced dead upon the arrival of the paramedics. It was later determined that the cause of death was Hyperthermia, which occurs when a person’s body temperature rises too high for the body to regulate.
Ross Harris was charged with felony murder and second-degree child cruelty.
Ten days later, Charnae Mosley left her four children, ages one, two, four, and six in her car. The windows were rolled down, and the approximate temperature outside was 90 degrees. Mosley left her children in the car for 16 minutes. None of her children were injured.
Mosley has been charged with four counts of reckless endangerment.
My first question is: how serious is it to leave your children in your car? Of course, leaving your 22-month-old infant in the car for 7 hours unattended is extremely serious. Doing so can result in dangerous medical problems, and, in the case of Cooper Harris, death.
But in the case of Charnae Mosley, her children were in the car unattended for sixteen minutes. Sixteen minutes. The amount of time it takes to eat breakfast. Moreover, the windows were rolled down, so there was no danger of the children being trapped inside the car. I’m not a doctor (obviously), but I doubt that her children were in any serious medical danger.
And yet, with four charges of reckless endangerment, Mosley faces up to five years in prison (if terms are served concurrently) if convicted.
Does it not sound absurd that Mosley could be imprisoned for longer than some of her children have been alive, just because she left them in a car for 16 minutes?
In my mind, two questions are raised: how parents can forget their children in the car, and what is the actual level of severity of doing so?
In the words of my mother, “Children are the most important thing in every aspect of a parent’s life.” If true, I find it hard to believe that it is easy to leave behind the most important aspect of your life. While it’s true that I have no children and that the most important thing in my life is probably my phone, I still never leave it in the car. I don’t know what could be so important that it could distract you from your own children.
Forgetting your children anywhere is bad, and is potentially dangerous if they are left in a car during the summer months. What I think determines the severity of doing so is the period of time they are in the car. Sixteen minutes with the windows rolled down in 90 degree heat is not a dangerous length of time to be left in a car. Most kids play outside for hours in 90 degree heat, but you don’t see parents getting arrested for allowing them to do so. Some kids even play sports like football and lacrosse in 90 degree heat. Such sports require players to wear heavy, heat-trapping pads. But still, no one is arrested for letting their child play football or lacrosse. Do not those activities seem more dangerous than sitting in a car?
Of course, leaving a person of any age in a hot car for seven hours is extremely serious, and of course, leaving a small child in a hot car for seven hours is even worse. But, to cite comedian Louie C.K., of course, leaving your children in a hot car is terrible, but maybe we should only freak out if it is for an obscene amount of time.