The death of Chase Harrison/Dmitry Yakovlev

Chase Harrison/Dmitry Yakovlev‘s death was a tragic accident. Miles Harrison was found not guilty of involuntary manslaughter in the death of his son. This is a controversial ruling here in the US as well as Russia. The verdict, whether it was right or wrong, had nothing to do with the fact that Chase/Dmitry was born in Russia, and was an adopted child.

Thirty to 40 children die each year in the US due to hyperthermia while in left unattended in child car seats. Most of those children are left in cars accidentally; when parents forget take the child to daycare. Often because they are not the usual person to take the child to daycare.

Court decisions and penalties are not consistent in these cases. Some parents are charged with a crime, some are not. Sometimes they are convicted and penalized or imprisoned, sometimes they are not.

The Virginia Prosecutor believed Mr. Harrison should have been convicted, or the State would not have brought the charge against him.

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What happened in this court case?

The grand jury issued an indictment (agreed there was enough evidence for a trial):
A Fairfax grand jury indicted Harrison on charges of involuntary manslaughter. Fairfax Commonwealth's Attorney Raymond F. Morrogh said in July, "From where I sit, I have to enforce the law, and the law places certain requirements on people when it comes to many things, especially with children."
http://loudounextra.washingtonpost.com/news/2008/dec/16/judge-considers-case-baby-left-hot-car/

(A grand jury is a jury of citizens who determine whether there is enough evidence for a trial. Grand juries carry out this duty by examining evidence presented to them by a prosecutor and issuing indictments.) About Grand Juries Virginia Grand Jury handbook

The Prosecutor choose to take the case to trial, instead of settling for a lesser charge and jail time:
Prosecutors declined to offer Harrison a plea to a lesser charge and Deputy Commonwealth's Attorney Katherine E. Stott said parents should be held to a higher standard because they hold a child's life in their hands. "The fact that he disregarded his duties," Stott said, "when these circumstances are likely to cause injury of death, shows callous disregard." http://loudounextra.washingtonpost.com/news/2008/dec/17/father-acquitted-manslaughter-sons-death-car/?local

The judge did not dismiss the charges:
A Fairfax County judge this morning declined to dismiss an involuntary manslaughter charge against [Miles Harrison] http://loudounextra.washingtonpost.com/news/2008/dec/16/judge-considers-case-baby-left-hot-car/

Mr. Harrison’s defense waived their right to have a jury of citizens decide the case, so the Judge was empowered to decide the verdict and punishment:
With potential jurors sitting in the hallway yesterday, Harrison's lawyers decided to waive a jury trial and let Ney act as the fact-finder in the case. Prosecutors did not object, and Ney then began hearing evidence in the death of Chase Harrison, who had been adopted three months earlier from Russia by Miles and Carol Harrison. http://loudounextra.washingtonpost.com/news/2008/dec/16/judge-considers-case-baby-left-hot-car/

During the trial, the prosecutor said:
"This is a case that involves parental responsibility. A case where an adult has voluntarily taken on the care of another life. . . . This is someone who took on the responsibility for Chase that morning. He put him in a hot car, and then he abandoned him."
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2008/12/16/AR2008121600924.html

The judge ruled that Miles Harrison was not guilty of Involuntary Manslaughter:
In his ruling, Ney [the judge] cited a 1930 Virginia Supreme Court decision that a person "who accidentally kills another, even though he may be chargeable with some actionable negligence, is not guilty of a crime, unless his negligence is so gross and culpable as to indicate a callous disregard of human life and of the probable consequences of his act."
"By any and every objective standard, while Mr. Harrison was plainly negligent," Ney said, his acts did not rise to the level of callous disregard for human life. http://loudounextra.washingtonpost.com/news/2008/dec/17/father-acquitted-manslaughter-sons-death-car/?local

The Judge’s complete written opinion will be made publicly available for all to read.

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Was Miles Harrison not convicted because Chase/Dmitry was adopted or from Russia?

Here are numerous similar incidents of children being accidentally left in car seats, while parents went to work: The parents did not realize the child was in the car.

A NASA employee’s 9 month old son died after accidentally being left in his car while the father went to work. He was not even charged with a crime by the prosecutor.
http://www.kidsandcars.org/ap_2_9_02.htm

A father accidentally left 2 boys, aged 1 and 2 years old, in his the car while he went to work. Both boys died. He was charged and plead guilty to involuntary manslaughter. The judge only sentenced him to 100 hours community service.
http://www.kidsandcars.org/incidents/heat/Judge_rules_griefs.htm

This article lists 6 Nevada children, aged 6 months to 3 years, who died after being left in cars, none of the parents were charged with a crime.
http://www.kidsandcars.org/incidents/heat/news/deadlylapseofmemory.html

A mother left her child in the car and was not charged with a crime by the prosecutor.
http://www.kidsandcars.org/incidents/heat/kidstories/PeytonBurchett.html

A college professor’s 10 month old son died in his car while he went to work. The father was not charged with a crime.
http://www.kidsandcars.org/news/7_28_07b.pdf
The father said:
"Mikey was the most loved and adored baby on earth.”

"At your greatest moment of need, I failed you horrifically," Warschauer said in a eulogy for his son.
"Worst of all, I have no explanation for what I have done.
I cannot understand how I,
who loved you more than the air I breathed,
who would have gladly given my own life for you,
could have done such a thing."

There are more cases, research and information about heat related car seat deaths in the US on these pages: http://www.kidsandcars.org/ http://www.kidsandcars.org/incidents/heat.html
http://www.kidsandcars.org/incidents/heat/newsarticles.html

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What do other US Citizens think of the verdict?

Here is one Washington Post editorialist’s view:
The tragic and horrifying case of Miles Harrison, the Loudoun County man who killed his 21-month-old son by leaving him in a broiling hot SUV for nine hours last July, ended this week when a Fairfax County judge acquitted the father of involuntary manslaughter.
As much as the father has suffered, and as much as he proved in court that he truly did love and adore that boy, Judge Terrence Ney's decision unjustly fails to hold Harrison accountable for his negligence. Just because someone who does wrong feels terribly about his misdeed does not absolve the justice system of its responsibility to hold all of us to a standard of decent behavior.
http://voices.washingtonpost.com/rawfisher/2008/12/why_was_father_who_killed_son.html

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What do I think?

Chase/Dmitry‘s death was a tragic, tragic accident. Chase lost his life. Chase’s adoptive family lost a son. Chase’s birth family lost a son. This was caused by to the negligence of his Mr. Harrison. The judge ruled his negligence did not meet Virginia’s standard of 'callous disregard for human life'. This ruling, whether is was the 'right' verdict or not, was not based on Chase’s adoptive status, or his dual Russian and American citizenship.

Chase/Dmitry‘s death was a tragic, tragic accident.

~~Karen