Thank you for coming

On Monday December 5, 2005, my six-month-old son was Life Flighted to a trauma center after suffering injuries at the home of his daycare provider. He was operated on for a brain injury, transferred to a children's hospital and lost his battle on December 8.

His daycare provider has been arrested and charged with Felony Child Abuse Resulting in Death, a class 2 Felony. The story was thoroughly covered in the local press, so I will not review the details here.

Today was the first pre-trial hearing, an attempt to quash the charge on the grounds that the penalty for the offense, 20 years to life in prison, violates equal protection under the law and is therefore unconstitutional. This morning, the defense attorney explained his argument, the county attorney presented her rebuttal, and the judge denied the motion after considering both sides.

The next step is another hearing, scheduled for Monday April 24, to hear the defense's argument that the defendent's statement should be suppressed.

My family and I would like to thank our families, our friends, and the members of our community for the remarkable ways in which they have shown us their love and support in some of the most amazing ways. Some of you will never know just how much comfort you have brought to us.

From the bottoms of our hearts, thank you.