I didn't mean to imply a child can't be healthy and happy with Down syndrome -- or with CP for that matter. Just that since the parents seemed to be blaming any physical problems Sunny has on the combination of these two issues, the attorney's statement seems contradictory. He seems to be admitting that her poor health (starvation, etc.) are from the parents' neglect, not due to CP or Down syndrome.
Or he could be planning to argue that a medical issue arose recently with Sunny... but up until then she was healthy.
Cerebral Palsy is a broad diagnosis too, it has many different variations. Many times it is a catch all for unspecified defects of the child's brain, be they birth injury, neurological based issues and the brain with oxygen deprivation of some sort.
Also I can relay that it has been stated that Sunny is non verbal as per her physicians.
I would expect that. A typical child even, will sometimes come out of an orphanage non verbal.
What good does it do the kid to talk when no one listens?
I wouldn't be at all surprised if Sunny doesn't make much noise at all.
Doesn't cry.
Doesn't laugh.
When you have been crying for years and nobody ever comes... you just learn it's not worth it.
They will likely have to "teach" this 6 year old girl to cry and laugh.
My take on the lawyer's comment is he is going to do "whatever it takes" to save his client from an early death. He undoubtedly knows there is no excuse for what she has done, so he is going to ignore the truth and try to devise an alternate reality - one where for whatever reason the Gores didn't get prenatal care, a BC or ever take their children to a doctor, but the children were loved and cared for "normally" otherwise. We all know it is bull chit.
If Sunshine has Downs or CP he would be using it to his client's advantage (poor Shannon was just overwhelmed by the responsibility of caring for her disabled children). IMO the disabilities are going to turn out to be caused by abuse, starvation and neglect. It was previously said that Sunshine could walk before she was locked in the cage, now she can't. Sunshine is said (now) not to be verbal - another sign of long term neglect.
These poor children were born into the home of monsters - if the pregnancies where such a colossal "sin" the children could have been handed over for adoption - for some sick reason this didn't happen. I have never heard any church advocate torture and murder of an innocent child to make up for the mistakes of the parents, so it is safe to say this line of reasoning will not pan out. (Not to mention SG is also under investigation for stealing.)
Mr Smith you go right on thinking Baby Boy died from "natural causes" - I guess you need something to help you sleep at night, anyone with half a brain knows that failure to provide medical care is a crime and can be prosecuted, so good luck with that (not!).
I thought about this defense too... but see they kind of screwed themselves here.
The people who DO get overwhelmed from having a child with special needs... do not simply get overwhelmed because their child
has a diagnosis...
They are overwhelmed by what comes WITH that diagnosis. The doctor's visits, the early intervention, the therapists, the research, the working with the child, the meetings for school...
Sunny did not have the benefit of any of those things.
Some parents will opt out of the therapies because it's too overwhelming.
These people had
nothing to be overwhelmed about... even if they had kids with special needs.
Not to mention, IF Sunny has Down syndrome then they almost certainly had a child who crawled late, walked late and obviously wasn't asking annoying questions. Delayed = not chasing her around.
There was obviously not serious medical issues to contend with. So they basically had a young baby who didn't cry and didn't talk. That's what they had to take care of.
I'm sorry... but having spent time in the hospital with both children... having a therapist at my house daily between the two kids... having almost every "ologist" under the sun... I would love to see them try to argue they were "overwhelmed." I would HOPE the prosecution would do some research about what REAL parents of children with special needs do for their children. These people would probably chit down both legs.
Prosecution response:
There was absolutely nothing to be overwhelmed by in this case, because they never sought help for their child.
