On Tuesday, February 9th, after 19 hours of deliberation, a jury found Rebecca Riley’s mother, Carolyn Riley, guilty of second degree murder in Rebecca’s death in December 2006 due to an overdose of psychiatric medication. It made me sad to read this, mostly because it doesn’t bring Rebecca back and it doesn’t solve the bigger problems raised by this case. The system – including many well meaning and caring individuals – failed Rebecca, and these failures killed her. Rebecca’s mother appears to have been so broken that she could not effectively keep her daughter safe. But that is why we look to the village – to our systems of care, education, social services, family, and neighbors – to keep a safety net under children who are not safe in their parents’ care.

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