I signed the petition to Deny Parole to Vanessa Coleman.

I avoided broadcasts and news when they told the details, especially the live broadcasts from the courtroom. I just can't handle the gruesomeness of the violent rapes and murders of Christopher Newsom and his girlfriend Channon Christian.

During the course of Coleman's trial for her part in the rapes and murders of Channon and Chris, evidence was presented from her diary entry dated 3 days after the murder. It read in part, “I’ve had one HELL OF AN ADVENTURE since I’ve been in the big TN. It’s a crazy world these days! But I love the fun adventures and lessons that I’ve learned. Its going to be a long interesting year! Ha! Ha!”

Here's the comment I added to the petition:

"I have eight living children. I cannot imagine how the victims' parents feel, but paroling this criminal would violate them all over again. Furthermore, rapists and murderers are the worst threats to all children and adults. If you must release someone to make room for this one, release a non-violent offender, please."

 I encourage you to sign the petition too:  Click here.

God bless,
Dadofmykids

Day 28 of #40Days - Little miracles.

"Somebody must be dead", Jill said, because the phone was ringing at 6:00 am.  Then she looked at the caller ID on the phone.  The call was from a pay phone in the town where our kids' birth mom lived.

Asher loves ice cream.

She was calling to tell us that our Asher, five months old, had been taken into DCS custody the previous day.  She told Jill when the case would be before the judge and was nearly begging for us to come and see if DCS would place him with us.  Jill assured her that we would be there, and that we would start making phone calls to our caseworker to see if she could help.

The little things about Asher being placed in our home were most miraculous.  Our home study had expired because we hadn't fostered any more kids since we had a houseful.  We didn't plan on getting more kids either.  But our beloved caseworker went to bat for us, appearing in court and recommending the judge to send Asher home with us.  The lawyer for our region of DCS made a special trip to be there, too.

Asher's caseworker was not the same as our caseworker.  She had made it clear that there was no way we were taking him home that day.  "No way."  But she was wrong.  The judge agreed with those who were there for us.  He said Asher should be with his siblings right away to begin bonding. 

At the campground.

We met his foster parents in the mall parking lot.  That's where we got Asher, at the mall.  He was so sweet and innocent. We were in my pick up truck.  Jill got in the back seat with Asher.  She changed his clothes and buttered him up with lotion because our church was in revival and we planned to be there with him that evening.  Jill's cousin took our other five kids to church and we met them there.  The first time they saw Asher was at church.

About a year later or so, we were camping by the lake.  Somehow, Asher got one of the fishing lures hooked in his lip.  The hook went all the way through the inside of his lip.  I used a pair of pliers to crimp the barb on the hook.  I thought I could then slide it out backwards, but it wouldn't go.  Then I cut the end off the hook with wire cutters.  Thankfully, it wasn't as serious as it first looked.

God bless,
Dadofmykids

This is post # 28 of Forty Days.  Learn more here.