Circumstantial Evidence
Peach fell asleep on my chest during prayers tonight.
I could not help but wonder if the defendant in the case, on which I sat as a juror these past several days, had fallen asleep on his mother’s chest when he was a boy.
What happens between the precious moments of innocence and the hardened moments of violence? How does a sweet baby become the accused?
Yes, socioeconomic and racial circumstances mostly likely had an effect on the sad outcome of today. But if one believes, as I stated during the voir dire portion of the trial, that there are no bad people –just good people who make some very bad choices — then I cannot help but wonder why it is that some people seem driven to make poor choice after poor choice.
I saw the defendant’s mother in court today.
She seems like the kind of mother who let her baby fall asleep on her, too…
Frume Sarah is Shabbos-observant -- in a Reform way, that is. Please note that from Friday afternoons until one hour after sundown on Saturday evenings, Frume Sarah will be unavailable, in observance of the Jewish Sabbath.
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Thank you for your understanding...and gut Shabbos!!! 
Frume Sarah's World 
having spent the last 3 years of my life teaching in a school for incarcerated teens I see them try to do well, and sometimes it works. Usually the best chance they have is to move out of their neighborhood and make new friends who have a history of making “good” choices. But often it doesn’t, they move home to the same friends (and sometimes family members) and the cycle starts over. My kids are great when they are off drugs and the street, but a lot of the decisions that they have to make are hard harder than those we ever had to make, I wouldn’t want to be growing up here and now.
{{{sigh}}} parents can only go so far, right? and we just hope that we leave our mark on our children but ultimately they must make their own choices.
it does make you wonder, tho…