Do you agree or disagree with what this Sheriff has to say?
about Tory Hansen the adoptive mother who sent her adopted son back to Russia, alone? Why or why not? Seems he thinks that the age of an unaccompanied minor on a flight half way across the world, is most important. Whether the adopted Russian boy was either 7 or 8 years of age? What do you make of this video interview? Note: Click on the video link.
All I know is that if I tried to put my kid (any of them) on a plane halfway across the world with a STRANGER to pick them up once they landed my a$$ would be hauled into jail so fast it would make your head spin... But I'm not an AP so I wouldn't get any preferential treatment based on how selfless I am.
It doesn't matter what the sheriff _thinks_. He gets to apply the law as it stands. If it's illegal for a seven year old and legal for an eight year old, then it's absolutely most important whether the boy was 7 or 8.
What I don't get is why the fact the child was adopted is even relevant. The adoption had been finalised, right? He was (is?) legally her son? In that case, it should be legally exactly the same as if she'd put her biological child on an unaccompanied flight to Russia to be met by a stranger.
The video link didn't work for me-- it may have become outdated. So my words are without having seen that. But...
One thing you have to bear in mind is that this woman lives in Tennessee, and Tennessee does not have laws specifically criminalizing child abandonment. For her to be prosecuted, this would have to be ruled abuse or neglect, or would have to fall under a federal statute, or would have to be prosecuted under Russian law with cooperation from the US courts to extradite.
In general, I don't think it matters from a moral standpoint whether the child is seven or eight, but from a legal standpoint, it could. Airline and federal regulations about unaccompanied minors may very well distinguish between those two ages if that happens to be their cutoff.
If Tennessee had legal penalties for abandonment, this would not be an issue. It doesn't. So they're having to get her on what they can. To get her on what they can, the child's age and the applicable transit regulations do make a difference in this specific case. It may seem picky, but chances are if they don't get picky, she'll get off with no punishment at all because of a quirk in state law.
No Matter What The Sheriff Or Anyone For That Matter Has To Say About The Different Laws (Local,State,Federal,Or International) That May Have Been Broken In This Horrible Act Of Inhumanity, It's The Clear Cut Disregard & Unacceptable Treatment Of A Child's Human Rights.
Sadly This Is Just Another Story Of Many, That Emphasizes The Reality Of Human Flesh Being Bought & Sold As Just Another "Commodity". And Just Like Any Other "Commodity" In This Day Of Age, If It Turns Out To Be Not What We Really Wanted Or Broken It's Simply Tossed Out & Easily Replaced. Adoption Regulations & Laws Must Drastically Change, In All Parts Of The World.
"Bless The Children..........................................Gods Speed"
There are children all across the country who are sent unaccompanied by airplane to their non-custodial parent. The airlines have an age limit. Clearly, he fit that.
It's the pickup up at the airport by a stranger is what I thought not good. I also thought that the grandmother should have accompanied him since they claimed he was mentally ill.
“United Airlines allows unaccompanied children as young as 5 years old on direct flights. Children age 8 and above can catch connecting flights, as well”so it's not that unusual.