What an awful story. Mitchelle Blair, a 35-year-old Michigan mother, was arrested in late March and charged with the murder of two of her children, 3-year-old Stoni Ann Blair and 8-year-old Stephen Gage Berry.
The kids’ bodies were found in a freezer when a sheriff’s deputy was serving Blair with eviction papers.
It has been reported that Blair was homeschooling the kids, but because Michigan does not require the state to follow up on homeschooled students, there are a number of local politicians now calling for compulsory monitoring in order to prevent more tragedies such as this:
"Today is not an attack on homeschooling," Councilwoman Mary Sheffield says #Homeschooling pic.twitter.com/oQ44kdbc0R
— Roop Raj (@rooprajfox2) April 17, 2015
Councilwoman and State Rep Stephanie Chang are proposing legislation that would GT better monitoring into homes #Homeschooling
— Roop Raj (@rooprajfox2) April 17, 2015
Grandpa of Blair kids thinks this #Homeschooling legislation would help save lives. Bill would start "fixing things" pic.twitter.com/3BJ4fB5QOR
— Roop Raj (@rooprajfox2) April 17, 2015
Rep Chang gives examples of other tragedies of #Homeschooling gone bad."Michigan is 1/11 States" w/0 contact w/ state pic.twitter.com/3WTZyGiFGL
— Roop Raj (@rooprajfox2) April 17, 2015
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PROPOSED LEGISLATION:Address, names of kids, meeting with officials twice a year, records kept of meetings.Officials could be police, clergy
— Roop Raj (@rooprajfox2) April 17, 2015
Councilwoman Sheffield cited #CharlieBothuell abuse case along with Blair case in wanting legislation pic.twitter.com/K1tOTZrEcS
— Roop Raj (@rooprajfox2) April 17, 2015
Grandmother of Blair kids now speaking saying accountability will help kids in the future pic.twitter.com/s1fSOz6NcX
— Roop Raj (@rooprajfox2) April 17, 2015
Exit question: If the grandparents of these two kids didn’t report or stop the abuse, what exactly do legislators think new laws, however well-intentioned, will accomplish?
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