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Thirty-year-old Jonathon Edington, a lawyer from Bridgeport, Connecticut, was sentenced Friday to 12 years in prison for first-degree manslaughter, after stabbing to death an elderly man in his bedroom.
It started when Jonathin's wife told him she thought a neighbor, 68-year-old Barry James, had molested their two-year-old daughter. Jonathin broke into James house later that night and stabbed him multiple times. Fairfield police investigated the molestation allegation, and could not find any evidence to substantiate the claim.
Superior Court Judge Richard F. Comerford Jr. said at the sentencing that "It's a Shakespearean tragedy brought into the real world." We might use a few stronger words...outright stupidity, a cold-blooded murder, and a poor excuse for taking someones life. While we can empathize with a parents strong desire to protect their child, this is a perfect example of what can happen when people lose perspective of reality. At the child's age, even if a molestation had occurred, under the circumstances it was highly unlikely to cause any lasting damage.
Mr. Edington's response to the situation, however, is sure to. Not only did he take a life and devastate another family, but he severely damaged his own daughter in the process. In fact, if you examine the long-term effects of father absence, or the strain of single parenting, or the emotional turmoil children endure from having a parent in prison, it is all either equally damaging or more damaging to children than the vast majority of sexual abuse cases. (See 'Cross Compariosn of Child Maltreatment,' (2008) Global Children's Fund, www.keepyourchildsafe.org/xx) Barry James may not have molested his daughter, but Jonathon Edington, through his actions, most certainly did.
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