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| State Moves To Destroy
Howard Family; Adoption Is Imminent By
Ed Oliver Heidi Howard's hopes of
getting her four-month-old baby, Jessica, back
any time soon were dashed last month by Judge
Robert Belmonte who continued the custody of the
baby in DSS without listening to any testimony at
all. The baby was seized from
the mother and her husband by the state on
February 14 when the infant was two-months-old.
The mother was shackled at the wrists and ankles
and forced to climb stairs in the Lowell court. A
hearing is required under state law within 72
hours. Attorneys Chester Darling
and Greg Hession strenuously objected to the
judge's quick decision on the matter after he had
only observed a few reports from the state's
Department of Social Services and had not allowed
any testimony. According to courtroom observers,
the judge claimed he didn't even know there was a
baby Jessica until minutes before his decision. The judge said he based
his decision on psychological evaluations that
say the parents are under stress. He acknowledged
the stress is probably due to DSS taking their
children, but he decided anyway to allow DSS to
keep the baby from her parents. Jessica was seized from
her nursing mother by DSS not because of any
alleged abuse of the baby -- but solely because
DSS had taken the Howard's other two children
over a year ago. The boys are being held on
hearsay allegations by DSS staffers even though
there has never been any testimony in court about
them either. After taking the baby,
DSS tried to say that the baby had eye problems
and was being damaged by the mother's milk
because she was taking a mild sedative while
breast-feeding. But the Howards had a
pediatrician on hand to refute the charges, so
DSS quietly dropped the allegation and now says
the baby is at risk because of "past
patterns of abuse" of the Howard's two boys. But there has never been
a hearing before a judge on any charge of abuse
against the Howards -- even though the false
charges are the sole reason for the removal of
Jessica. "This entire case is
built upon hearsay," Attorney Greg Hession
told Massachusetts News outside Framingham
Juvenile Court. "Does this mean if I
have any more children, DSS can just come and
take it away from me for no reason like they did
Jessica?" asked the mother. The current trial will
decide the fate of all three Howard children. Reporters are not allowed
into the secret proceedings to see if the parents
are treated fairly. The trial ran two days this
week and is scheduled again for the first two
days of May. Attorney Chester Darling
predicted that the contest will be bruising.
DSS has over twenty witnesses scheduled to
appear, but according to observers, so far DSS
merely reads from their written reports but does
not offer proof of their statements. For example, a DSS social
worker testified about interviews she conducted
with the Howard boys. Her written notes are the
only evidence of what was allegedly said by the
boys, and they are impossible to verify. Under
cross-examination, she said she never taped an
interview in sixteen years. Currently there is a bill
under consideration on Beacon Hill that would
force DSS to videotape any interviews they do
with children. Critics say that unrecorded,
coached interviews with children are tools for
social workers and prosecutors to conduct
witch-hunts.
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