DNA snippets
The Texas Department of Family and Protective Services says in court filings that it can not match FLDS children to their parents until it gets DNA test results back.
The children, the state argues in a court filing before the Texas Supreme Court, have a ''constitutional best interest right to know with absolute certainty who their parents are. Due to the orchestrated conspiracy of silence, neither the Department nor the trial court was able to match alleged parents with the children.''
Well, some of their attorneys sure tried but 51st District Judge Barbara Walther refused their help. Remember her comment about birth certificates and driver licenses being suspect in this age of identity theft?
Most of the DNA samples were collected the third week of April, under the supervision of the Texas Attorney General's Office. Those results are due back by next week, according to Janece Rolfe, a spokeswoman for the AG's Office.
Walther ordered the samples on April 21. The order includes various listings of the residents of the YFZ Ranch. There are four pages of children's names, sorted by surname, though some are group under the collective heading ''330 children from the YFZ Ranch'' or ''16 children from the YFZ Ranch.''
Children are listed alphabetically by first name, too. The same sifting is done for ''alleged mothers'' and ''alleged fathers.''
The order authorizes collection of samples from any person who may be incarcerated -- but shows just one such person on the father's schedule: FLDS leader Warren S. Jeffs.
By the way, there are 65 men on the ''alleged fathers'' list although some names appear to be duplicates. For instance, Isaac S. Jeffs may be the same person as ''Isaac Last Name Unknown'' and ''Isaac Steed.''
The children, the state argues in a court filing before the Texas Supreme Court, have a ''constitutional best interest right to know with absolute certainty who their parents are. Due to the orchestrated conspiracy of silence, neither the Department nor the trial court was able to match alleged parents with the children.''
Well, some of their attorneys sure tried but 51st District Judge Barbara Walther refused their help. Remember her comment about birth certificates and driver licenses being suspect in this age of identity theft?
Most of the DNA samples were collected the third week of April, under the supervision of the Texas Attorney General's Office. Those results are due back by next week, according to Janece Rolfe, a spokeswoman for the AG's Office.
Walther ordered the samples on April 21. The order includes various listings of the residents of the YFZ Ranch. There are four pages of children's names, sorted by surname, though some are group under the collective heading ''330 children from the YFZ Ranch'' or ''16 children from the YFZ Ranch.''
Children are listed alphabetically by first name, too. The same sifting is done for ''alleged mothers'' and ''alleged fathers.''
The order authorizes collection of samples from any person who may be incarcerated -- but shows just one such person on the father's schedule: FLDS leader Warren S. Jeffs.
By the way, there are 65 men on the ''alleged fathers'' list although some names appear to be duplicates. For instance, Isaac S. Jeffs may be the same person as ''Isaac Last Name Unknown'' and ''Isaac Steed.''
19 Comments:
LOL!!
"The children... have a 'constitutional best interest right to know with absolute certainty who their parents are."
Tell that to adopted children that do not know who their parents are.
That's a good point kbp
CPS reunites twelve children with their mothers. Their argument of not knowing who the children's mothers are fails if they have already allowed these children to unite with their mothers.
The CPS attorney's logic is negated by their own agreements. CPS has already undermined their own argument before the Supreme Court by identifying mothers and children. How can they argue that they can't unite them when they already have?
Any cowboy knows when a dogie calf is returned to the herd it doesn't take long for it to find its mother and visa versa . .
How 'bout it Texans--are there any good cowboys left to herd these kids in the direction of their mothers and see them hug up? It might even bring a tear to an honest Texan's eye . . .?
So explain to me, in this age of photoshop, that the awful and disgusting picture was allowed in as evidence. I mean if birth certificates can be fake, so can pictures.
TexasMom, I've been thinking the same thing. Photoshopped pics are harder and harder to spot these days, how do we know these pictures aren't photoshopped? To me it seems suspect that pictures would have been taken...
And the point about the picture being admissible when state issued identification wasn't is a really good one....
kbp,
Sorry friend, but that is pretty lame rhetoric.
The biological parents of adopted children have either had their parental rights terminated or the rights were voluntarily relinquished.
Children that are going to be returned to adults that claim that they are the children's parents have an absolute interest in knowing who their parent actually is.
LOL @ TexasMom & HistrionicMoment...
Y'all have been screaming for evidence, and now that it is starting to show up, it's fake?
Didn't you notice that a Judge in Dallas was going thru the boxes and boxes of evidence?
What are y'all going to say when the DNA evidence starts matching adult men with underage mothers?
I *really* doubt the photograph was photoshopped, but I think the point about Walther's double standard remains an excellent one.
She discounted driver's licenses and birth certificates because we live in an age of identity theft. But she accepted something that a reasonably competent 12 year old could have produced on a computer.
For what it's worth (which is about nothin') my speculation would be that since the marriage was kept a secret from the community, Merrill Jessop had the photograph of it to prove that it happened in case he needed such documentation later. I am assuming that this marriage is important to him for internal political reasons.
Isaac Steed and Isaac S Jeffs are two different people.
My question is, just how did they get the list of names? Just between you and me the answer is: from the mothers who told them the truth from the beginning.
I am very curious how they will match the DNA samples with the NAMES, which they seem to be telling us are all fabricated. Have they tattooed a number on their forearms yet that will positively idtentify the DNA sample with the PERSON? DONT cut anyones hair...it might make them UNRECOGNIZABLE, in this day of barbers and MAKE UP...people can change their appearance, their names, and worse they may REFUSE to talk...you know...you have the right to remain silent..anything you say can and will be used against you in the court of public opinion...etc
TBM
Children that are going to be returned to adults that claim that they are the children's parents have an absolute interest in knowing who their parent actually is.
If only it were the children that are not certain!
You're confusing the state with the children there.
Did you find some book to read about FLDS children scattered all over searching to determine who their real parents are?
I've read a few about the problems adopted children have searching for them.
CPS has testified to the fact that some FLDS children either didn't know who their birthparents were, or would not tell.
The Arizona AG is on the record in noting the extreme measures the FLDS take to hide their criminal activity. He's even gone so far as to compare their tactics to the Mafia.
Given these circumstances, it only makes sense to verify documents and paternity of the women and children. It proves nothing, if CPS allows children to unite with "alleged" mothers, while they wait for verification.
This post has been removed by the author.
Irrespective of the 'type' of enterprise the old mafia was, it was a well run business.....
Made alot of money for alot of people...took care of its own, respected each other, didn't want or need government interference....
Had a leadership structure bar none....
Clever, brilliant even, in avoiding outside scrutiny.....
I don't know if it is a bad comparison....
*Sweet smile*
And....Like CPS, the Attorney General would never, ever lie.....
I asked this question on another blog, but never got an answer--Are all births and deaths, of FLDS members, registered with the state in which they occured? If not...why? If there are birth certificates on file in Texas, or Utah or Arizona,etc, then it should be fairly easy to disprove [or prove] that there are no underage marriages. AND prove parentage.
MC - It's my understand (through reading various books) that births are not always recorded with the state.
If there are birth certificates on file in Texas, or Utah or Arizona,etc, then it should be fairly easy to disprove [or prove] that there are no underage marriages. AND prove parentage.
My stepfather is listed on my birth certificate because that's who my mother wrote on the paper they handed her, but he's of no blood relation to her. Also (and not saying that this has ever happened with the FLDS, but just an example of a way to get around the system), if a young girl gave birth in a home birth with a midwife, there's nothing to keep another, older, woman from filling out the paperwork claiming the child as her own.
Again, not at all saying that's what happened, but it's not as easy as you say.
The FLDS have been accused of giving false information on birth certificates, if they have obtained them at all. Since the births are often on their property, with cult midwifes in attendance, it can be avoided. You can find testimony by former FLDS noting their own fraudulent certificates, those of others, or lack of certificates.
Any FLDS receiving welfare, and the numbers for that practice are high, would have to have a birth certificate. However, if it bore a father's proper name, that could be a problem for the woman committing the fraud.
A blogger in this space said that there were certificates with conflicting birth info presented to Walther. I've never seen that in a legit report.
As far as death certificates, there are reports from escaping members that there are unreported deaths, especially of babies.
Of course, you have to understand that this problem of "birth certificate accuracy" isn't limited to the FLDS.
I am neither LDS or FLDS, and wasn't born in Utah, but I can attest to inaccuracies on my OFFICIAL state-issued Birth Certificate. My father's middle name is mis-spelled according to other documents, like his SS Card and his Veteran's ID. My mother's age is incorrect as her parents lied about her age when she was just a kid, so she could get treatment at a Shriner's Hospital.
Wonder how Texas would treat my documents...
With DNA not available, per the news, until next week at the earliest, I can see CPS trying to hold on a bit longer to make sure they return the children to the "proper" parents. With all the moving around, possibly some missing parents [banished fathers], the reassigning of families, and just plain old confusion, they need to be carefull, still.
Post a Comment
<< Home