LilMtnCbn
03-12-2004, 06:46 AM
http://www.zwire.com/site/news.cfm?newsid=11112135&BRD=1719&PAG=461&dept_i
d=25271&rfi=6
Convicted mom wins custody of son
LAURA PRANAITIS , The Telegraph 03/12/2004
SPRINGFIELD -- A roller-coaster custody case that has captured national
attention took another turn this week when an appellate panel returned a son to
a mother convicted in the death of an earlier child.
Events in the case of Sheryl Hardy, 35, transpired Wednesday when the 4th
District Appellate Court in Springfield overturned a Jersey County judge’s
ruling to terminate her parental rights.
Hardy has been fighting for custody since her son was taken from her at birth
in February 2001 because of her involvement in another son’s abuse and death.
She was convicted of second-degree murder and aggravated child abuse in Florida
in 1989 for the death of her 2-year-old son, Bradley McGee.
Jersey County Circuit Judge Thomas Russell ruled in November 2001 that Hardy
had turned her life around and deserved a chance to raise her son and returned
him to her. Jersey County State’s Attorney Mary Kirbach appealed Russell’s
decision to the 4th District Appellate Court.
In August 2002, a three-judge appellate panel unanimously overturned
Russell’s decision and found Hardy to be an unfit parent because of
"substantial neglect" to Bradley, as defined in the Adoption Act. Under the
Adoption Act, substantial neglect is defined as continuous or repeated neglect
of any child in the household that resulted in the death of that child.
The Department of Children and Family Services once again took Hardy’s son
from her and placed him with the same foster family who cared for him the first
time he was taken from her. Russell ruled in May 2003 to terminate her parental
rights but later in the month granted a stay of his ruling pending her appeal.
Wednesday’s ruling means Hardy could soon have the little boy in her custody
again.
Matthew Mauer, one of Hardy’s attorneys, said a motion would be filed for the
immediate return of the child to Hardy and her husband, the boy’s father,
Randy Hardy, who has not had custody of the child but had parental rights to
him.
The appellate court overturned two rulings regarding the child -- the
termination of Hardy’s parental rights and a finding that the boy had been
neglected because of the threat Hardy represented. The appellate court found
that Russell’s decision to terminate Hardy’s parental rights was not in the
best interest of the child and that the state presented "no evidence
whatsoever" at the hearing to show the boy was a neglected or abused.
"Speculation that a child will be stigmatized by a parent’s past is
insufficient to meet the state’s burden of proof that termination is in the
child’s best interest," the ruling states,"especially when the other evidence
showed (Hardy) was rehabilitated, had a close relationship with (her son) and
had parented him appropriately for nine months; and where no evidence was
presented that (the child’s) safety was at risk in (Hardy’s) care. Parental
rights and responsibilities are of deep human importance and will not be
lightly or easily terminated."
Hardy was convicted in 1989 in the death of Bradley after her then-husband,
Thomas Coe, slammed Bradley headfirst into a toilet as punishment for soiling
his pants while the couple was trying to potty train him. She has admitted in
court to sitting on the side of the bathtub smoking a cigarette and watching as
her son’s head was rammed into the toilet like a plunger.
Hardy and Coe then took the little boy into their living room, where they hit
him in the head with couch cushions until he fell to the ground because his
brain was hemorrhaging. Bradley died of massive brain injuries. Hardy also
admitted in court, according to court documents, to abusing Bradley and being
aware that Coe abused him.
Coe is serving a life sentence in a Florida prison. Sheryl Hardy served nine
years of a 30-year sentence and was released from a Florida prison because of
jail overcrowding. She moved back to Jerseyville, her hometown, met Randy
Hardy, became pregnant, and the couple married.
-------------------------
A good friend will come and bail you out of jail . . . but, a true friend will
be sitting next to you saying, "Damn . . . that was fun!"
-----Unknown
d=25271&rfi=6
Convicted mom wins custody of son
LAURA PRANAITIS , The Telegraph 03/12/2004
SPRINGFIELD -- A roller-coaster custody case that has captured national
attention took another turn this week when an appellate panel returned a son to
a mother convicted in the death of an earlier child.
Events in the case of Sheryl Hardy, 35, transpired Wednesday when the 4th
District Appellate Court in Springfield overturned a Jersey County judge’s
ruling to terminate her parental rights.
Hardy has been fighting for custody since her son was taken from her at birth
in February 2001 because of her involvement in another son’s abuse and death.
She was convicted of second-degree murder and aggravated child abuse in Florida
in 1989 for the death of her 2-year-old son, Bradley McGee.
Jersey County Circuit Judge Thomas Russell ruled in November 2001 that Hardy
had turned her life around and deserved a chance to raise her son and returned
him to her. Jersey County State’s Attorney Mary Kirbach appealed Russell’s
decision to the 4th District Appellate Court.
In August 2002, a three-judge appellate panel unanimously overturned
Russell’s decision and found Hardy to be an unfit parent because of
"substantial neglect" to Bradley, as defined in the Adoption Act. Under the
Adoption Act, substantial neglect is defined as continuous or repeated neglect
of any child in the household that resulted in the death of that child.
The Department of Children and Family Services once again took Hardy’s son
from her and placed him with the same foster family who cared for him the first
time he was taken from her. Russell ruled in May 2003 to terminate her parental
rights but later in the month granted a stay of his ruling pending her appeal.
Wednesday’s ruling means Hardy could soon have the little boy in her custody
again.
Matthew Mauer, one of Hardy’s attorneys, said a motion would be filed for the
immediate return of the child to Hardy and her husband, the boy’s father,
Randy Hardy, who has not had custody of the child but had parental rights to
him.
The appellate court overturned two rulings regarding the child -- the
termination of Hardy’s parental rights and a finding that the boy had been
neglected because of the threat Hardy represented. The appellate court found
that Russell’s decision to terminate Hardy’s parental rights was not in the
best interest of the child and that the state presented "no evidence
whatsoever" at the hearing to show the boy was a neglected or abused.
"Speculation that a child will be stigmatized by a parent’s past is
insufficient to meet the state’s burden of proof that termination is in the
child’s best interest," the ruling states,"especially when the other evidence
showed (Hardy) was rehabilitated, had a close relationship with (her son) and
had parented him appropriately for nine months; and where no evidence was
presented that (the child’s) safety was at risk in (Hardy’s) care. Parental
rights and responsibilities are of deep human importance and will not be
lightly or easily terminated."
Hardy was convicted in 1989 in the death of Bradley after her then-husband,
Thomas Coe, slammed Bradley headfirst into a toilet as punishment for soiling
his pants while the couple was trying to potty train him. She has admitted in
court to sitting on the side of the bathtub smoking a cigarette and watching as
her son’s head was rammed into the toilet like a plunger.
Hardy and Coe then took the little boy into their living room, where they hit
him in the head with couch cushions until he fell to the ground because his
brain was hemorrhaging. Bradley died of massive brain injuries. Hardy also
admitted in court, according to court documents, to abusing Bradley and being
aware that Coe abused him.
Coe is serving a life sentence in a Florida prison. Sheryl Hardy served nine
years of a 30-year sentence and was released from a Florida prison because of
jail overcrowding. She moved back to Jerseyville, her hometown, met Randy
Hardy, became pregnant, and the couple married.
-------------------------
A good friend will come and bail you out of jail . . . but, a true friend will
be sitting next to you saying, "Damn . . . that was fun!"
-----Unknown
