Defending a Culture of Child Abuse?

Re “Public Defenders Say Judge in Sentencing Furor Justified,” May 6: Where is the abused child’s public defender? How do you explain to a little boy now, or later in life, that his father was only following cultural “customs and habits” when he held his hand over a gas stove because the child pocketed a pack of gum?

As a court-appointed special advocate for children who have been removed from their homes because of serious neglect and abuse, I am both saddened and appalled by a judge’s decision that excuses such parental behavior on the basis that that’s the way the father was raised. It’s a safe bet that most abusive parents were at one time abused themselves, whether in this country or Guatemala. Shouldn’t our aim be first to protect the innocent child from harm and then work toward helping families break the tragic cycle of abuse?

Bonnie MacDonald

Laguna Beach