Killer father gets life sentence

Chris Grady was given a life sentence with a minimum term of 15 years. (s)

Gary Smee

http://www.eveshamobserver.co.uk/story-Killer-father-gets-life-sentence-37522.html

A FATHER who killed his daughter and attempted to murder his son by driving them into the River Avon has been jailed for life with a minimum sentence of 15 years.
Chris Grady, of no fixed address, was convicted by a majority verdict at Birmingham Crown Court and sentenced on Tuesday (March 22) at the end of a three week trial.
The judge, Mr Justice Lindblom, told the 43-year-old he must serve at least 15 years for the murder of five-year-old Gabby Grady and ten years to run concurrently for the attempted murder of Ryan Grady who was six at the time of last February’s ordeal at Hampton Ferry in Evesham when he drove his car into the freezing river.
Grady has already spent 402 days in custody and this will be deducted from the sentence.
On passing sentence Mr Justice Lindblom said what Grady did would horrify any right-thinking person and had put his defenceless children, who were screaming and crying, in terror.
“Those crimes were born of anger and self-pity,” he said.
“In all of this, Ryan and Gabby were innocent. They were your children, they loved you. They looked to you for protection and support.”
During the trial, jurors heard that Grady had warned the children’s mother, Kim Smith, she had 10 seconds to say goodbye to them before he drove into the water at Hampton Ferry.
Miss Smith, 37, said he arrived at her house in Abbot’s Walk, Evesham, at around 9.15am, telling her to say goodbye, before driving away shouting the word river.
She said his face was contorted and vile with anger.
Grady had denied the charges saying it was an accident but the jury took five hours to find Grady guilty of both counts.
After Grady was led away from the court the judge offered his condolences to Miss Smith.
He said: “I turn to the family and in particular Miss Smith and Ryan (who was not in court).
“I offer them my own sympathy in their loss and I hope that the pain of that loss may now be easier to bear.
“You took from Miss Smith her daughter, and from Ryan his sister. You left your family to grieve.
“She says that what you did has shattered everyone in her family.
“She says that what they go through every day is like a recurring nightmare.’’

For more reaction to the Grady sentencing turn to page 3.

Law change liable to upset fathers –GO AUSTRALIA!!

http://www.theage.com.au/national/law-change-liable-to-upset-fathers-20110323-1c6qa.html

THE Gillard government will provoke the ire of fathers' groups today with landmark changes to family law designed to protect children in cases of domestic violence.

Attorney-General Robert McClelland will press ahead with legislation winding back some of the shared parenting changes ushered in by the Howard government.

The changes will make it easier for parents to produce evidence of violence in cases where parents are in dispute over contact arrangements. The legislation will include new legal definitions of abuse and family violence.

The government believes the Howard changes made it difficult for women to make allegations of domestic violence in custody disputes because they could end up with costs awarded against them, or be branded an unfriendly parent, increasing the chances of shared care being ordered.

Family law experts, and women's groups, have urged the government to make child safety a more compelling legal principle than the concept of equal parenting rights.

The bill went out for a consultation period and the government has changed the original proposal to ensure courts will still take note of the level of parental participation in a child's life and their preparedness to provide financial support.

The architect of the changes, former family court judge Richard Chisholm, said the government had chosen not to adopt all of his recommendations, but the amendments were positive. ''It is a sensible and moderate measure,'' Professor Chisholm said.

Mr McClelland, who has been lobbied extensively by shared-care proponents, said the government remained supportive of mothers and fathers sharing care of their children after marriages failed ''but only where this is safe for the child''.

The Coalition has signalled it will block the measure, forcing the government to court the crossbench for support.

Dr. Sharon K. Araji Talks about Domestic Violence in Contested Child Custody

This 28 minute Documentary explains how Abusers use the Court System to continue to abuse the mother for leaving, by taking her children.

Guardian ad Litems, Mental Health Professionals, Supervised Visits, Fathers Rights --

All make money by keeping the battered mother away from her children and by giving the children to the documented batterer.

These are crimes and in Family Court they are dismissed and turned into profit for the above so called ‘experts’.

Child trafficking is legal in Family Courts.

Run Mommy, Run, Their is no justice--- ‘JUST US’ perps-—batterers, GALs, MHPs, Custody Evaluators, High Conflict experts, Supervised Visitation, mediation… the list goes on and on.

Family Courts Need Reform, Say Judges, Legislators

Keep em coming Peter Jamison! Each and EVERY State in the Nation needs to take your lead!

http://www.sfweekly.com/2011-03-23/news/family-court-jerilyn-borack-mark-leno-peter-jamison/

Family Courts Need Reform, Say Judges, Legislators

By Peter Jamison Wednesday, Mar 23 2011

Our March 2 cover story, "Illegal Guardians," detailed problems in the state family courts' procedures for investigating allegations of child abuse and spousal battery in divorce proceedings — and four cases in which custody decisions led to children being placed with physically or sexually abusive parents. In one, a 9-month-old boy was murdered by his father after a judge refused the mother's request for a protective order.

Fred Noland

Since then, SF Weekly has spoken with two state officials who have been at the forefront of family court reform. They agreed that the problems need to be addressed, but had different ideas about where to start.

Sacramento Superior Court Judge Jerilyn Borack served on the state's Elkins Family Law Task Force, which issued a 2010 report on how to improve litigants' experience of the family courts. She says the key to improving court assessments of potential child abuse is devoting more resources in the form of money or personnel to the system. That could allow more time to look into abuse accusations when they arise, just as significant time is spent appraising the value of property divided in a divorce settlement. "I don't know why there is any more reticence to deal with an allegation of sexual abuse as to deal with, 'The house is worth $2 million; no, it's worth $200,000,'" she says.

State Sen. Mark Leno (D-San Francisco) thinks the courts need more than just additional resources. He says they need strict monitoring to ensure that officials properly review abuse accusations. "There needs to be some response if courts are not abiding by the law," he says.

Leno was the driving force behind a recently completed audit of the family courts in Marin and Sacramento counties, which found that mediators in both courts appeared to lack adequate qualifications to do their jobs. Following the completion of that audit, he says the courts have until January 2012 to "clean up their act."

At that point, he says, he will weigh whether additional legislation is necessary to push the judiciary toward reform. He says it can be politically sensitive to challenge the authority of state judges and their advisers, but that in light of the "horrific and frightening" cases described by SF Weekly, lawmakers might have no choice. "Part of the delicacy here is that we're talking about a separate but equal branch of government," he says. "But when you see the kind of abuses that you reported on, and that we uncovered through our audit, I think the legislative branch may need to step in."

Hawaii - SR84 & HR189 - Family Court Audit

Courtesy AngelGroup

SR84 & HR189 - Family Court Audit

Angels!  Here is little piece of heaven for you.  PLEASE support these Resolutions at every turn.  This is the fruit of your bravery and labor:)

Read SR84

Read HR189 (check out all the the signatures!!)

READ HCR218

REQUESTING AN AUDIT OF CHILD CUSTODY PROCEEDINGS INVOLVING THE COMMISSION OF FAMILY VIOLENCE BY A PARENT, TO ASSESS THE APPLICATION AND ENFORCEMENT OF SECTION 571-46, HAWAII REVISED STATUTES.

WHEREAS, domestic violence is recognized as a pattern of behaviors used by one person to coercively control another person in a relationship; and
WHEREAS, domestic violence may take the form of psychological, physical, or sexual abuse and may happen once or periodically to victims of any age, gender, race, culture, religion, education level, employment status, or marital status; and
WHEREAS, the primary, most damaging, and long-term form of domestic violence is psychological abuse, which rarely leaves any physical traces of its occurrence; and
WHEREAS, victims of abuse are encouraged to terminate relationships with abusive partners for their own safety and the safety of their children and to avert further and future harm; and
WHEREAS, the termination of an abusive relationship may increase a perpetrator's lethality because the perpetrator loses control over the victim and may increase abusive behavior in order to regain control; and
WHEREAS, child custody and visitation frequently become disputed issues after a victim successfully escapes an abusive relationship; and
WHEREAS, the litigation of child custody and visitation disputes often provides perpetrators of domestic abuse and family violence with an ongoing venue for the continued use of coercive control against their former partners under the guise of child custody and visitation concerns; and

WHEREAS, domestic violence is a serious crime in addition to being a serious personal or family problem; and

WHEREAS, section 571-46 (a) (9) - (14) , Hawaii Revised Statutes, establishes specific criteria for the Family Court to consider in custody or visitation disputes when family violence has occurred; and

WHEREAS, the Legislature is concerned that Family Court judges may not be correctly applying or enforcing section 571-46 (a) (9) - (14) , Hawaii Revised Statutes, to the detriment of domestic violence survivors and their children and ultimately punishing survivors and their children for successfully escaping abusive homes; now, therefore,

BE IT RESOLVED by the Senate of the Twenty-sixth Legislature of the State of Hawaii, Regular Session of 2011, that the Office of the Auditor is requested to conduct an audit of a sampling of contested child custody proceedings in which family violence has been alleged to have been committed by a parent and that were heard by the Family Courts during the period from January 1, 2004, through December 31, 2010, to assess the application and enforcement of section 571-46(a) ( 9 ) - (14), Hawaii Revised Statutes, by the Family Court; and

BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the Judiciary is requested to redact the names of all parties, witnesses, attorneys, judges, and other interested persons from all selected custody proceedings to maintain privacy and confidentiality; and

BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the Office of the Auditor is requested to submit a report of any findings and recommendations to the Legislature no later than twenty days prior to the convening of the Regular Session of 2012; and

BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that certified copies of this be transmitted to the Chief Justice of the Supreme Senior Judge of the Family Court, the Administrative of the Courts, the Chief and the State Auditor.

Abusers Get Kids- Radio Show with Ron Winckler (HI)

Courtesy AngelGroup Abusers get Kids - Radio with Ron Winckler

 

Listen to the March 14, 2011 interview on:

Maui Mud Flats Radio Show

Three brave survivors of Domestic and Family Violence, have come forward to share their stories of how they were re-victimized through Hawaii's Family Courts. Hawaii - well known for honeymoons, weddings and "paradise" vacations -  is more aptly recognized as quite the opposite when trying to navigate the process of divorce and child custody, especially if one is fleeing an abusive relationship. 

In Hawaii, there are a few renegade judges who disregard statutory laws that FORBID children being given to perpetrators of abuse. 

The three whistleblower mothers featured on this radio show, have suffered at the hands of the very "officials" put in place to protect them.  Child Welfare Services and Dept. of Human Services have  - thus far - only contributed to the problems in these cases.  Please listen to the show.  If you are also a victim of Hawaii's Family Courts and would like to share your story,  Contact AngelGroup.

The Tactics and Ploys of Psychopath Aggressors in the Family Law System

by Charles Pragnell

 

n the twenty years I have been advising parents, children, and their legal advisers in several hundred cases in Family Law matters, I have often been asked, “Why is it that children are so often ordered to have contact with, and even into the custody of, parents who have abused them and have perpetrated violence against their partners.”

The answer to this question is not simple and involves an examination of the requirements of Family Laws which stress the importance of children having both parents in their lives after parental separation, the dynamics of legal processes, and the often very clear gender biases of the principals involved in judicial processes.

But one of the most outstanding and consistent features of proceedings involving the care of children post-separation are the conduct and behaviours which can be identified as clearly fitting the definitions of psychopathy/sociopathy.

The major personality traits of the psychopath are supremacy and narcissism. The afflicted individual must be in complete control of their environment and all persons who are a part of that environment or can serve the psychopath’s purposes in maintaining control.

The psychopath is capable of using both aggressive anger and passive anger with cunning and guile, to achieve their goals of exerting control. Examples of such contrary behaviours are the aggressive violence against intimate partners, with the frequent inherent abuse of children, designed to groom friends, relatives, and professionals into believing they are harmless and indeed very stable and friendly. If thwarted in attaining these goals, however, the passive can quickly turn into the aggressive.

In furtherance of these traits, the major tactics and ploys of the psychopath are:

1. denial of wrongdoings in the face of clear evidence;
2. refusal to take responsibility for behaviours and actions;
3. minimisation of the incident and consequences;
4. blame being placed on others;
5. misrepresentation, fabrication, embellishment and distortion of information and evidence;
6. minimisation of all information and evidence regarding wrongdoing;
7. claims of victim status, alleging the victim was the aggressor;
8. projection of their own actions and behaviour onto the victim; e.g. she abuses/neglects the children/ she is an alcoholic or drug abuser. This is based on the belief by the psychopath that attack is the best form of defence.

The grooming of friends, relatives, and professionals is very clear in many cases, and in particular some psychiatrists, psychologists and family evaluators/reporters have been hoodwinked by such tactics and ploys by the psychopathic individual. Their reports, of course favouring the psychopath, have very considerable influence on the Courts and their determinations. Very often clear evidence of intimate partner violence such as convictions, Domestic Violence Orders, Apprehended Violence Orders and Restraining Orders against the psychopathic aggressor and medical evidence of injuries suffered by the adult and child victims are ignored or dismissed as irrelevant by such professionals.

Such professionals now refer to such cases as `high conflict’ cases, when it is clear that they are situations of a violent aggressor/tormentor/persecutor and their victims. It is easy to see how the cases in Austria and America where young girls were imprisoned for many years by controlling individuals and regularly abused in several ways were undetected, when the aggressors/persecutors/tormentors were able to convince their family members, relatives and associates that they were reasonable, normal people. The same often occurs in other cases of violence and murder where neighbours report that the accused murderer is a nice and friendly neighbour. They do not recognise the Jekyll and Hyde aspects of the psychopath’s ploys and tactics and of those they have effectively groomed in their beliefs.

The high conflict which usually occurs in such cases is most commonly engendered by the respective lawyers, conditioned by operating in an adversarial process and arena, whose own major goal is to ‘win’, whatever may be the justness and fairness of the result.

It is not difficult to see, therefore, how the psychopath is able to readily gain the sympathy and support of some of the professionals engaged in the Family Law system and for them to abandon and forfeit their professional objectivity and impartiality in such circumstances. In blaming others the psychopath will allege the former partner is mentally ill and in some cases the former partner may be suffering a Complex Post Traumatic Disorder after suffering years of physical, mental, and sexual abuse and violence. This is often misinterpreted and misdiagnosed as a Borderline Personality Disorder or similar psychiatric term. In effect it is a classic ‘blame the victim’ scenario.

The groomed professionals then enable the psychopath to achieve their primary objective, which is to maintain power and control over their victims, their former partner and children. It is an act of vengeance and spite but mostly it is to maintain the power and control and feelings of supremacism and narcissism. “I am faultless and flawless and in control of my whole environment” are the unvoiced cravings of the psychopath, and “I can continue to inflict my tortures on my victims with impunity” are the psychopath’s continuing behaviours.

The Family Law and their shared parenting provisions and its administration by the Family Courts have become ready enablers for the psychopath.

Charles Pragnell is an Independent Advocate for Children and Families.