Many of my posts are an effort to bring attention to the injustices of child abuse and neglect and how society avenges it. I have often raised my hands and cursed at the stupidity of the judicial system and sometimes the American public in how they view the rights of sexual preditors and heinous acts of violence against children, however, in this story, it is not about abuse or selfish or malicious intent and maybe that’s what makes it so painful to read. My heart aches for this woman. This is a sad, sad story:

A 14-month old boy died Friday morning, less than 24 hours after his mother left him in her vehicle at Cossatot Community College of the University of Arkansas in De Queen.

Zachary Bowden was pronounced dead at 4: 16 a. m. at Arkansas Children’s Hospital, according to information from the Pulaski County coroner’s office.

The boy’s mother, Kristin Bowden, the vice chancellor and dean of academic services at the community college, reportedly left the baby in her car for about four hours — from 8 a. m., when she arrived on campus for a summer-school program, to noon, when she went back to her car, said Frank Adams, president of the college.

“We are running a program for high-school students which we call Extreme Academy. And, as a matter of fact, we were dealing with ambulances and helicopters and all of that related to health care,” Adams said in a telephone interview. “When the program was over, [Bowden ] went to her car and found that her child was there.”

The temperature in De Queen ranged from 77 degrees at 8 a. m. to 89 degrees at noon, according to the National Weather Service.

Bowden immediately took her son to the college’s health building, where a student in the licensed practical nurse program performed cardiopulmonary resuscitation, Adams said. Paramedics then transported the child to De Queen hospital, from where he was airlifted by Angel Flight to Arkansas Children’s Hospital in Little Rock, where he died.

The reason the mother won’t be charged, and this is a tough thing to imagine when you hear about the circumstances, it truly is a tragedy of magnificant proportions. I can’t even imagine what this mother is going through.

Prosecuting Attorney Tom Cooper of Ashdown said in an interview that it was unlikely that charges will be filed against the mother.

He cited several mitigating factors, including the mother’s recent brain surgery; the child’s disability, which limited his ability to cry, and the fact that the boy’s grandmother usually dropped the boy off at preschool.

“We believe at this point it was a horrible accident,” Cooper said.

7 babies, toddlers and children have died this summer from being cooked alive in hot cars. Most of these as a result of criminal behavior.

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