WTF! The Missionaries Who Attempted to KIDNAP 33 Haitian Children Are Being Released!

PORT-AU-PRINCE (Reuters) - A Haitian judge has decided to release 10 U.S. missionaries accused of kidnapping 33 children and trying to spirit them out of the earthquake- stricken country, a judicial source said on Wednesday.

The source said the missionaries, who have been in jail since they were stopped at Haiti's border with the Dominican Republic on January 29, could be released as early as Thursday.

"The order will be to release them," the source, who asked not to be named, told Reuters. The decision has not yet been made public.

"One thing an investigating judge seeks in a criminal investigation is criminal intentions on the part of the people involved and there is nothing that shows that criminal intention on the part of the Americans," the source said.

The missionaries, most of whom belong to an Idaho-based Baptist church, were arrested trying to take the children across the border to the Dominican Republic 17 days after a magnitude 7 earthquake that killed more than 200,000 people in the impoverished Caribbean nation.

The five men and five women have denied any intentional wrongdoing and said they were only trying to help orphans left destitute by the quake, which shattered the Haitian capital and left more than 1 million homeless. But evidence has come to light showing most of the children still had living parents.

As part of Haiti's legal requirements, investigating Judge Bernard Sainvil must send a notice of his decision to the prosecutor. That will be done on Thursday, the source said.

Once he receives the order, the prosecutor could offer an opinion that one or more of the Americans should be held but that would have no legal effect on the judge's decision, the source said.

The case has been a distraction to the Haitian government as it tries to cope with the aftermath of the earthquake and was diplomatically sensitive for the United States as it spearheads a massive international effort to feed and shelter Haitian quake survivors.

Haiti's beleaguered government had warned that unscrupulous traffickers could try to take advantage of the chaos that followed the quake by taking away vulnerable children, and it tightened adoption procedures.

http://www.reuters.com/article/newsOne/idUSTRE61960R20100210

I honestly don't even know what to say after reading this article. I thought for sure that these kidnappers would get some sort of punishment. Instead, they are going to come back to America so they can, most likely, do interviews on T.V. and make millions of dollars from a memoir that they write about their experiences in child trafficking.

0 members like this

Comment by Galen on February 10, 2010 at 11:52pm: If they really thought the children were orphans, then I can't really blame them. I might've done the same.

Comment by luvtheheaven on February 11, 2010 at 12:20am: Why would you assume the children are now orphans if you have no proof though? That sounds fishy to me.

Comment by Anne Chenier on February 11, 2010 at 12:44am: not a lot to say about this...

what. the. fuck!!

Comment by Aric on February 11, 2010 at 1:47am: The missionaries knew many of the children were not orphans because the parents gave the children to the missionaries. The reason the parents gave their children to the missionaries is because the missionaries told them that they were taking the children to an orphanage where the parents could visit them.

http://www1.voanews.com/english/news/americas/10-Americans-Missiona...

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2010/02/01/AR2...

http://www.nydailynews.com/news/world/2010/02/04/2010-02-04_ten_ame...

Also, the leader of the missionary group, Laura Silsby, was due in court yesterday in Boise for not paying the employees of her shopping website.

http://thelede.blogs.nytimes.com/2010/02/04/woman-also-due-in-idaho...

Comment by Michel-san on February 11, 2010 at 6:45am: Haiti receives a lot of aid from the US, that aid requires support of the US government and public. Imprisoning US citizens doesn't help that situation. One is reminded here of the Amanda Knox trial, only this time Christianity is involved.

I wonder how the trial would have gone if those 10 were, for example, Algerians.

Comment by Dave G on February 11, 2010 at 9:50am: I don't think that there is any real doubt that they were not acting in good faith (ie: believed that the kids were all orphans), but they're being released because of their 'faith', and no doubt because of US pressure on Haiti and religious pressure on the US.

I say try 'em. Even if they end up deciding the sentence is being banned from Haiti, at least try them. Otherwise, it gives the distinct impression that kidnapping is fine, as long as the kidnappers are doing it for religious reasons.

Comment by LWatts on February 11, 2010 at 2:21pm: It is sad that due to the demands on governments during times of crisis this is not being investigate more. Maybe with more time and effort proof of ill intentions could be shown. Overall, this story is quite disturbing. It saddens me that religious groups go overseas to impose their own ideals on other cultures instead of trying to embrace new ideas and learn about other ways of life. This self-righteous attitude is dangerous when extremist get it into their minds to convert children from other countries. I wish justice would have prevailed.

Comment by Kirk Holden on February 11, 2010 at 4:14pm: This is not at all about "converting children". This chick was going to make big $$$ selling these children for profit. She shopped for children 10 years old or younger to "rescue" so that she could become a child abduction clearing house and make $$$. Forget for a moment that she claims to be a Christian or a Klingon - that is most definitely not the point.

Comment by Galen on February 12, 2010 at 1:28am: Hmm, well, seeing as how they apparently KNEW many of the kids were not orphans, that certainly changes my opinion. They obviously just wanted to get the kids away from the "godless heathen" Haitians who had "made a deal with the devil" so that they could come to America to be raised in "good Christian homes." What a crock of shit.

Comment

You need to be a member of Think Atheist to add comments!

Join Think Atheist

RSS

Welcome to
Think Atheist

Get Started Now
or Sign In

Or sign in with:

What's new today

1	Why are you Atheist? Are there any obstacles you face as an Atheist?
2	Salty Water = Proof for Creationism?
3	I pledge allegiance to the earth and all the life which it supports One planet, in our care, irreplaceable, with sustenance and respect for all
4	Friend doesn't believe in dinosaurs.
5	when-the-time-comes
6	What Is TPP? Biggest Global Threat to the Internet Since ACTA
7	Science
8	So the Pope said I can go to heaven...
9	Worship Me
10	Dusting this group off and discussing pests!