Friday, February 17, 2012

On trial for a Grand Canyon hike


AP reports:
PHOENIX—The oldest grandson of a man standing trial on child abuse charges testified Thursday that he secretly asked another hiker to call 911 during a long, hot hike in the Grand Canyon last year. ...

Defense attorney Jeffrey Williams has portrayed Carlson as an active health nut who had a firm hand and wanted to show the boys the world. Like anyone after a long hike, the boys were tired, hungry and thirsty, but Carlson only allowed the boys to eat healthy food like tofu, hummus and veggie burgers, Williams said Wednesday in his opening statement. ... Another time, the boy said Carlson made him eat broccoli that he had tried to flush down the toilet.

The youngest of the three brothers testified Wednesday that his grandfather took the boys on many "awesome" adventurous trips. In between the two hikes, Carlson took the boys on a tour of the Hoover Dam, to rides atop the Stratosphere hotel and a Criss Angel magic show in Las Vegas, and to Disneyland in California. ...

Carlson is charged with six counts of felony child abuse and faces life in prison if convicted. He has pleaded not guilty.
Felony child abuse?! There was no injury other than some foot blisters. I got foot blisters also when I hiked the Grand Canyon. But admittedly, I would have been unhappy if I had to eat tofu and hummus at the end of the hike.

This is crazy. Carlson is not a criminal. He was obviously doing what he thought was best for the boys. It was a character-building exercise. A boy needs to be pushed to his limits occasionally. If the accusations are correct, then maybe he overdid it. But life in prison because a fun vacation included a gruelling Grand Canyon hike? It is a good thing that we have a jury system for criminal cases.

4 comments:

Anonymous said...

I'm denied visitation by Santa Cruz County because, tho' it wasn't specifically stated in the court order, I wrote 4 letters. These letters were against the children's mother and a county psychiatrist. Supposedly the letters 'harmed the family.' If they harmed anybody it was the mother and the shrink who keeps the Asperger boy on Risperdal.I wrote the letters because of the terrible side effects the boy was having. He's been on it 6 years now, off-label, still with the side effects. The person wrote drew up the order - a so-called Parent Coordinator, tho' there is no such program in SC County. She lost custody of her only son and has lied about everything: developing the PC program, even her credentials - she wants to be called Doctor, tho' her doctorate is from an on-line school in the Cayman Islands and isn't recognized in the United States. But the county doesn't seem to care about liars or the welfare of children; they only care about keeping children in the county's MHSA program bring in those funds.

Anonymous said...

'Christopher Alan Carlson’s 9-year-old grandson says he and his two brothers were kicked during scorching hikes into the Grand Canyon last summer and that his grandfather also hit him in the face, causing a nose bleed.'

Kicking and hitting? Child abuse.

George said...

Let's assume, for the sake of argument, that the allegation is correct that Carlson struck the boy and caused a nosebleed. Let's assume also that the man showed bad judgment and could have handled the matter in a better way. Does he deserve life in prison for that? That is the question for the jury.

Anonymous said...

Its ridiculous!!! Life in prison??? Wow! Just free Carlson, let him live his life. The authorities are out of control!!!