Jury selection for the trial of Karen McCarron began today, the Peoria-Journal Star reports. McCarron, a pathologist, is accused of suffocating her 3-year-old daughter, Katherine McCarron, who was autistic, with a plastic bag on May 13, 2006. Jury selection continues tomorrow and on Friday, and the trial is expected to begin on the morning of Monday the 7th. Some previous posts here are about what McCarron said in a confession made shortly after Katie was killed and about her lawyer’s repeated efforts to postpone the trial—and about why desperation should not be a fact when raising a disabled child. WMBD (central Illinois) also has a report.
In the words of her grandfather, Michael McCarron, Katherine was very well-loved, and beautiful, and precious, and happy.
[...] expected to begin Monday in Tazewell County Circuit Court in Pekin, just southwest of Peoria, where jurors could face a tough question: Was McCarron legally responsible for her actions or was she [...]
The January 4th Pekin Times has a more detailed account of the jury selection in the upcoming trial.
@daedalus2, the word “desperate” does seem to occur regularly when parents of special needs kids—autistic kids—talk about why they have felt “driven” to do something, try some risky treatment, and even to the point of overuse, in an alarmist fashion. As to whether or not any of us have been in “desperate” situations”—-a bigger, messier discussion than the comments section here might be able to manage……I am concerned about how some (and I’m neither naming names or pointing fingers, just trying to make a general statement that may fly back in my face; so it goes) overuse the word “desperate” as a reason there is so much “urgency” about stopping the “epidemic of autism.” And so forth.
As I noted above, I have been in contact with Katie’s grandfather, so anything I say about this case is very much tinged with my personal perspective; as regards this case and trial, it’s probably very hard for anyone not to have a lot of feelings.
I am posting this comment for daedalus2u—I am not sure why the comment is not posting. — kc
Kristina, I think that most people who use the term “desperation”, have never been in a truly desperate situation. Very few people have ever been in a truly desperate situation. A situation where one truly feels one is in a life and death struggle. It can be extremely difficult to understand unless one has experienced it. Just like being depressed, just like being suicidal, just like being in love, just like being a parent. Unless you have experienced it, it is extremely difficult to understand. Andrea Yates didn’t have a child with a disability but she found herself in a desperate situation and killed all 5 of her children.
autismdaddy, huh? Have you ever been in a desperate situation? How many people have you actually seen in a desperate situation? Usually people try to hide that they are in a desperate situation because a common and usual response (by NTs) is to bully such a person to try and make it worse. This is the reality that people on the spectrum face each and every day. They need to pretend they are doing ok because if NTs find out they are not doing ok, the NTs attack and bully them and make it worse.
The most usual response to a truly desperate situation is a suicide attempt. The most usual response by the family of a suicide victim is to deny that the victim was ever in a desperate situation.
My statements are only about generalities and physiology. I make it clear that I have no knowledge of the specifics of this case. If what I write makes you so uncomfortable that you need to somehow refute it and attack me for “pontificating” and call my ideas “rubbish”, then perhaps you need to examine what it is about your views that makes you so uncomfortable to read what I have written. “Pontificating” denotes arrogance and dogmatic views. If you bothered to read what I wrote, you would know that it is filled with facts and logic and references peer reviewed literature. Perhaps it arrives at a wrong or mistaken idea. If so, I would appreciate knowing where the error is in the chain of facts and logic that I have laid out so I can correct it. It is not arrogance to have confidence in a well researched and well thought out idea. It is arrogance to dismiss such an idea without facts and logic.
There are many who invoke the “desperation” of raising a child with autism to justify chelation, aversion therapy, giving children electric shocks, exorcism, and any number of horrific treatments. Michelle Dawson has no shortage of horrific stories of how she has been treated because of her autism. Many autistic adults have similar stories. There are some parents who have justified risky treatments by saying their child would be better off dead than with autism. Autism Speaks has even glorified a parent’s wish that his autistic child would drown by making a video of him saying it (Autism Every Day).
“I know nothing of the individual circumstances of this case. “
And yet you don’t let that stop you pontificating. Fascinating.
From what I’ve read, the people who do know the individual circumstances of this case, are agreed that Karen McCarron is someone who was about as far from desperate as you can get. Certainly the fact that several doctors have examined her and found her to be not in any way unbalanced either now or then tends to indicate that both you and she are talking rubbish.
Jury selection continued today but slightly behind schedule, according to today’s Peoria Journal-Star; ” testimony set for Monday may be delayed.”
My thoughts and best wishes are with Katie’s father and grandparents. I also hope justice is served, and that Dr. McCarron is given no special treatment whatsoever based on the fact that she is a female murderer instead of a male murderer.
One more comment: The post I wrote referring to “desperation” was written in the time right after Katie’s death. Last night I was reviewing some other writing of my own and came across this sentence: “In June of 2005, I began to write a blog about my son Charlie out of desperation.” So I have been reflecting a lot on the comments above and on my post.
What I meant by writing “desperation should not be a fact” is that being a special needs parent does not mean one has to feel “desperate.” But then I recall how many times one hears that “autism is a devastating diagnosis”; that one is told that one’s child “will never do X”; when relatives and friends say “I feel so sorry that this happened to you” etc. etc. —I think we’ve all read similar statements and had them said to us. There is an unspoken societal message that having a disabled child means (1) your life is going to be terrible and (2) you should feel bad and are deserving of sympathy. I’ve been through (who hasn’t?) these sorts of feelings but I don’t feel this way anymore and (this is me; I am a pragmatic person) when not feeling like this has, in my very specific experience, helped me do better by Charlie. Teaching Charlie and seeing him learn and grow has been an ever-affirming experience.
I don’t think anyone can read about this case without feeling something very overwhelming.
Thanks for the clarification—this case brings out a lot of emotions, inevitably………….I have one to offer myself, which is that I have corresponded with and met Mike McCarron, Katie’s grandfather, so a lot of personal feelings influence my writing on this topic.
Hi Kristina–just to clarify, my statement was not necessarily addressed to blogging about this, since I was also very upset about Katie’s death at the time that it occurred, as I am whenever I hear of children who are abused, neglected or killed by their parents. From what I have read, there are variable reasons that these tragic events occur.
To be plain, I think speculation on Karen McCarron’s state of “desperation” and then make some link to events is premature, possibly inaccurate and probably insensitive to Katie’s father and grandparents. I assume that the trial will address the particular questions more directly, than speculation on states of mind third-hand.
Update: An article in today’s Peoria Journal-Star notes that 15 jurors are being selected from a pool of 80:
There was a lot of feeling about this case after it occurred: On May 24, 2006, members of the Autism Hub posted memorial messages about Katie McCarron. Autism Diva’s post includes a list; here is Ballastexistenz—-Autism’s Edges—–Left Brain/Right Brain—–Not Dead Yet posted photos of Katie McCarron—–here is Action for Autism—–Autism Street—–Mom-NOS—–and this is the Memorial Grove for Katie.
I prefer to let the official channels of justice determine causes and analyze evidence and testimony.
As Kassiane said, may justice be served and the healing continue.
The physiology of desperation is acute. It can be invoked in a short period of time.
Yes, there are a zillion better ways of dealing with desperate situations other than infanticide. What compels people do desperate things is a lack of ability, oportunity, motivation, understanding, resources and a host of other things.
The essence of bullying is to put a person in a desperate situation and then deny them the ability to do non-desperate things to resolve it. I don’t know if that was involved in this case, but bullying is pervasive, even by (so called) adults, as the LBRB case illustrates.
My heart goes out to Katie’s father and grandparents during this time. May justice be served, and may healing continue.
But — Ms McCarron hadn’t been “raising” Katie, so how would the “physiology of desperation” come into play in this particular case? Katie had been living in the Carolinas with her father and grandmother who were raising her, while Ms McCarron remained behind in the Midwest to continue her medical practice.
Thanks for pointing that out—it’s now fixed as of 21.04 EST, 2nd january 08. I have been following this case since it was reported and have been in communication with the McCarron family. Yes, desperation does happen and families can feel desperate but surely there are other ways to deal with this — yes, there are other ways.
Desperation shouldn’t happen to anyone, but it does. When people get desperate they do desperate things. Pretending that doesn’t happen is disingenuous. Mothers in their right mind don’t kill their children. I have an extensive blog about the physiology of desperation and how that can lead to infanticide. It isn’t a moral failing, it is an evolved feature. One that all mammals exhibit. One that can be invoked in any one of us under the right (or wrong) circumstances. There but for the grace of God could go any of us.
I know nothing of the individual circumstances of this case. I do know that treating Karen McCarron harshly won’t bring Katie McCarron back, and won’t deter another mother from doing the same thing if she is made desperate enough.
Kristina, I think you miswrote in your link to your earlier blog. Your blog is titled “Desperation” should not be a “fact” when raising a disabled child , but the sentence in your link is and about why desperation should be a fact when raising a disabled child.