Georgia Parents Torture Adopted Daughter, Say They Were Just Following The Bible

[struggle4progress]

30. Since you asked, here are some other issues:

(1) The 15-yo girl's complaint deserves to be taken seriously. Official action, taken to protect her while investigation proceeds, is appropriate. If her complaint is credible, of course, then the legal system can be appropriately invoked; and if her complaint finally turns out to be true, then further official action -- to protect her and to discourage such abuse in the future -- will be appropriate

(2) Some 15-yo girls have sometimes been known to tell less than truthful tales; the girl may also be telling the truth, and there may be corroborating testimony from neighbors, for example. It is our legal tradition here to presume that the accused has a right to day-in-court, and there is no evident reason why we should stray from that tradition in this particular case.

(3) A good technique for evaluating alleged quotations is to inquire how accurate the quotation is, how complete the quotation is, and how much context is available

... According to the neighbor, Diana Franklin said she was "doing what the Bible says" ... http://www.newjerseynewsroom.com/nation/parents-of-ga-girl-locked-in-chicken-coop-face-charges

One should here note that the half-sentence, attributed here to the woman accused, is actually the reporter's partial quote from an interview between the reporter and a neighbor. It is hearsay. Hearsay, of course, can accurately reflect conversations, but it's often inaccurate or misleading. So the half-sentence quote doesn't help us much here: read in conjunction with the girl's accusations, it may, or may not, help create an accurate impression of daily family life in the household