An American judge took law in his own hand by beating his daughter mercilessly

An American judge took law in his own hand by beating his daughter mercilessly 4/11/2011

This was a violent beating and anyone who doesn't see it as such has some serious issues to explore. I would be ashamed/reluctant/ disgraced to even admit I could condone such behavior. We are a civilized society, not some barbaric people whose only outlet for conflict is violence. I would never, for one second, consider doing this to one of my dogs, much less a human being, regardless of their behavior.

A YOUNG American girl by the name of Hillary Adams has posted an online video on YouTube, which is really a shocking one, where she has been beaten by her father countless number of times with a belt. She was beaten by her father as she had downloaded some files, for which she has not paid, as reported by ndtv.com. Her father, William Adams is a Texas judge by profession.

The Police department of their hometown, Rockport has been looking into the video very seriously, as they are trying to analyze whether the video has any criminal activity in it. The Williams family seems to be in a lot of trouble, which they seem to be aware of after the video became public. There was no one at the Judge's house and even his office calls remain unanswered. But, William Adam has told Corpus Christi television station KZTV, that the video looks worse than it is. He does not believe that he has done anything wrong in it and said he was making his child disciplined, as reported by ndtv.com.

The recorded video has become an instant hit on YouTube, where it has been posted. It has received more than 950,000 clicks after it was uploaded last week. The video is said to have been captured in 2004, when Hillary Adams was just 16 years of age. Hillary had posted the video but she does not want her father to be punished for his act and she seems to be regretting about her video post now.

Hillary Adams says her parents were angry because she had downloaded pirated content online, and that she turned on the camera because she sensed something was going to happen.
William Adams, who presides over child abuse cases, is still being investigated by the state's judicial conduct commission and the Texas Department of Family and Protective Services, which on Thursday requested that he be removed from its cases until the investigation concludes.

Patrick Crimmins, a spokesman for the agency, declined to elaborate on the exact nature of the investigation. But he said that in general, the agency would only investigate a case in which a suspected abuse victim has already reached adulthood if there are still children in the home who could be at risk. Adams was granted joint custody of his 10-year-old daughter in his 2007 divorce.

Adams, now 23, said she had received an outpouring of support and encouragement since posting the video last week. But her feelings were tempered by the sadness that her father lashed her 17 times with a belt after threatening to beat her "into submission”. She told the Associated Press, “I’m experiencing some regret because I just pulled the covers off my own father’s misbehavior after so many people thought he was such a good person. … But so many people are also telling me I did the right thing.”

Adams, 51. likely would have been charged with causing injury to a child or other assault-related offences for the 2004 beating of his then 16-year-old daughter but the five-year statute of limitations had expired, said Tim Jayroe, police chief in Adams's town of Rockport. "We believe that there was a criminal offence involved and that there was substantial evidence to indicate that and under normal circumstances a charge could have been made," Jayroe said.

Adams's lawyer, William Dudley, said in a written statement that Hillary Adams's explanation of her decision to share the video "have been confusing and hollow .Very few people find palatable her claim that it was to 'help' her father."

Judge William Adams says in his defense about her daughter, “She’s mad because I've ordered her to bring the car back, in a nutshell, but yeah that's me, I lost my temper," Adams told us. "Her mother was there, she wasn't hurt. It was a long time ago.. I really don't want to get into this right now because as you can see my life's been made very difficult over this child," Adams continued.

When asked if he felt he was going to face any suspension or discipline from the state over the video Adams responded, "In my mind I have not done anything wrong other than discipline my child when she was caught stealing. I did lose my temper, I've apologized. It looks worse than it is."

Corporal punishment is nothing less than child abuse. This judge needs to face the same law he delivers to others. According to clinical instructor of psychology at Harvard Medical School, Jim Hopper,”This is an act of brutal violence. To beat someone into submission is not discipline. To beat a child into submission makes it harder for that child to take in rules and the values that the parent believes they are imposing on the child.”

SIDDHARTHA SHANKAR MISHRA
BUREAU CHIEF,
THESE DAYS, TASVER E HIND,
ORISSA, SAMBALPUR