14-year-old has parents arrested for drug counts

[BA]

(Mississippi) A Lowndes County couple have been jailed on drug charges after their daughter reported them to sheriff's deputies.

Lowndes County narcotics agent Tim Howell said Shawn Harrison, 37, and his wife, Nancy, 34, along with Stoney Ray, 36, were arrested Sunday on charges of the manufacture and possession of methamphetamine.

Howell said the Harrison's 14-year-old girl alerted police after she said she saw her mother and stepfather begin producing the drugs in their home.

Howell said deputies found two methamphetamine labs and confiscated the drug-producing materials.

Howell said investigators had already been looking into the couple's activities based on leads from informants and anonymous tips.

"We knew who they were," Howell said. "We've been investigating them for about eight months."

Howell said lawmen got a search warrant after Shawn and Nancy Harrison refused to allow an inspection of their residence.

He said officers found the materials used to make methamphetamines and also obtained information that led to the execution of a second warrant for Ray's home, where methamphetamine was found along with materials to make it.

Authorities said the manufacturing of methamphetamine can carry a maximum sentence of 30 years, which could be doubled when there are juveniles present while drugs are being manufactured.

Story link
4.16.2003

 

[Love In Vein]

I hope that girls parents get some SERIOUS help.

You don't do that kind of shit when you're raising a kid. Period.

 

[craig420]

Some day that girl will grow up and realize that she singlehandedly wrecked her own life and that of her parents. It sickens me to see kids who have more allegiance to a misguided war on drugs than they have to their own parents.

Sure, it was irresponsible of the parents to be doing what they were, but their victimless crime is not deserving of what they are about to receive as a punishment.

And as for the "serious" help you say the parents need...they're headed to prison. Do you really think they're going to receive that sort of help in prison?

 

[shezinphx]

I disagree. I beleive the parents are 100% wrong! I mean what kind of parent are you raising a teenager who knows what's going on and not only doing drugs, but making them?
It was probally more than just turning her parents in, it was the lifestyle she wanted to get out of. It would of only gotten worse if she didn't turn them in. Now she's better off not being around it and it serves her parents right.

 

[AfterGlow]

The parents shouldn't be exposing their 14 year old child to that sort of thing. It's too bad the kid didn't have some other family or friends she could have turned to instead of turning her parents in.

 

[Petersko]

Some day that girl will grow up and realize that she singlehandedly wrecked her own life and that of her parents. It sickens me to see kids who have more allegiance to a misguided war on drugs than they have to their own parents.

Sure, it was irresponsible of the parents to be doing what they were, but their victimless crime is not deserving of what they are about to receive as a punishment.

I agree with the 'forgotten' on this one. It was not victimless. It was irresponsible, horrible parenting.

Even besides the toxic vapours and unhealthy environment, like it or not, mistakes happen and labs burn down. It happened in my home town not long ago.

Also, they are placing her in a position where, at any time, she could be deprived of both parents for the long term. What kind of parenting involves such dramatic risk to the family unit?

Whether or not you agree with the laws they broke, they had no business risking the health and emotional welfare of their daughter in such a fashion.

Also, you only think its victimless until you meet enough cracked out meth addicts.

 

[CompTA]

We all know that the parents were wrong for exposing their child to that, but I think the child was wrong for turning her parents in. I have to believe that she had another option besides sending her parents away to prison. I agree with craig420 on everything but the victimless crime part. This girl wrecked her parents life and probably her own too.

 

[BA]

I wonder, if and when the police nabbed them, if they would try the girl as an accomplice. Since she knew of the illegal acts, and willingly did nothing to prevent/stop it?

 

[FallenThistle]

Howell said lawmen got a search warrant after Shawn and Nancy Harrison refused to allow an inspection of their residence.

This implies that they got a search warrent because they refused a search. How exactly is that legal - they would have had to have had other evidence correct?

Yah I think that the parents were messed up for doing that around a child - however they are probably going to spend the rest of their lives in prison, and thats unacceptable - how does that help anyone including the young girl?

 

[Frunobulax]

I wonder, if and when the police nabbed them, if they would try the girl as an accomplice. Since she knew of the illegal acts, and willingly did nothing to prevent/stop it?

that would never hold up, because she did turn them in, and there's no proving how long someone was aware of something.

 

[DrEIMiller]

It's already been said, but to echo the sentiment, this most certainly was not a victimless crime. That girl was a victim - psychologically and emotionally.

 

[craig420]

It wasn't a victimless crime. The child was probably being exposed to all sorts of chemichal vapors, hazardous waste, etc. Backwoods Mississippi meth labs are hardly safe for experienced meth cooks, let alone a 14 year old girl.

I agree with the 'forgotten' on this one. It was not victimless. It was irresponsible, horrible parenting.

Even besides the toxic vapours and unhealthy environment, like it or not, mistakes happen and labs burn down. It happened in my home town not long ago.

I think you guys are all jumping to conclusions based upon stereotypes put forward by the conservative media outlets. Nowhere in the artical did it mention that a lab was anywhere on the premises. Without said lab, there are no toxic vapors, no hazardous waste, and no threat of an explosion. The article mentions they found "materials used to make methamphetamines"...this is NOT the same as a lab; what this translates to is the cops found some pseudoephedrine and some iodine or something similar. If they had found a lab, you can bet your ass they would have mentioned it in the article.
As for dealing and conspircy to manufacture, I will stand by my previous statement that that is a victimless crime. Rape, murder, assault, theft, fraud, drunk driving...those are crimes with discernible victims. But dealing drugs is not something that in and of itself creates a victim...the only reason that this would create a "harmful" environment for the child is because the drug in question is illegal. There is nothing inherently bad in the activity itself.
To make this point clearer, take something that is currently legal and recreate the same situation. Take pizza for instance...many parents have pizza in the freezer and perhaps all the fixings in order to make a pizza in the house. These in and of themselves are not harmful and do not create a harmful environment. Now, if you make pizza illegal, then the possession of the pizza and the elements for making a pizza would be considered a victimless crime. A child in that house with the illegal pizza and pizza paraphanalia may very well be in harm due to the illegality of the pizza...but that does not make them a victim of the crime itself. Understand?
Now, some of you may say that methamphetamine is much different because it is addictive. However, this is also a moot point. Tobacco and alcohol are addictive but you wouldn't claim that any child in a house with any amount of tobacco or alcohol are victims (or would you). It is possible to use methamphetamine (or any drug for that matter) responsibly.

Also, they are placing her in a position where, at any time, she could be deprived of both parents for the long term. What kind of parenting involves such dramatic risk to the family unit?

So the risk that you claim was posed to her was the possibility that she could lose her parents. Yet, she is the one that precipitated her to actually lose them. Irony?

 

[Symmetrical Daze]

"Howell said lawmen got a search warrant after Shawn and Nancy Harrison refused to allow an inspection of their residence."

Those idiots deserve getting busted. They should have got rid of the stuff since they were already being investigated.

 

[Petersko]

So the risk that you claim was posed to her was the possibility that she could lose her parents. Yet, she is the one that precipitated her to actually lose them. Irony?

Does the fact that she turned in her parents somehow make their actions right?

 

[BA]

It's hard for me to say what the "right thing to do" is here, its a tough call. I think the girl will understand just what has happened when shes living with her foster parents visiting her real parents on the weekends in the county jail.

 

[Love In Vein]

We all know that the parents were wrong for exposing their child to that, but I think the child was wrong for turning her parents in. I have to believe that she had another option besides sending her parents away to prison. I agree with craig420 on everything but the victimless crime part. This girl wrecked her parents life and probably her own too.

What were her other options?

Do you think she could have honestly just talked to them or something? Her parents obviously weren't very rational to set up a lab in their own home - on top of having a 14 year old daughter they're suppossed to be parenting - exposing her to an extremely dangerous environment like that. And it's probably very safe to assume these people weren't just synthesizing methamphetamine, they were probably using it as well. Have you ever tried to talk sense to longtime meth addicts? Please.

This girl didn't ruin her parent's lives. They ruined their own lives. They're adults. They are responsible for their actions.

And how could you begin to figure she wrecked her own life? She got herself out of a horrible situation.

On top of all the dangers of simply having a methlab in the home because of the volatile nature of the chemicals used, what if they had been the target of a robbery or something? Or what if her parents ended up being investigated anyways and the cops busted in the house pointing guns to her head while raiding the place?

I get the impression that some people here are only concerned about making their point about the war on drugs or their point about the penalties for drug convictions or whatever other point they want to make and aren't at all considering what an ordeal this innocent 14 year old girl has been through.

Not that I think parents should be involved with the manufacture of any type of illegal drugs, period. But I can see where it'd be one thing if her parents were growing a few pot plants. It's quite another thing when you're synthesizing an extremely addictive drug (with an extremely low recovery rate) that has the potential to completely destroy a person both physically and mentally.

 

[Love In Vein]

Nowhere in the artical did it mention that a lab was anywhere on the premises.

Try reading the article again.

"Howell said the Harrison's 14-year-old girl alerted police after she said she saw her mother and stepfather begin producing the drugs in their home."

As for dealing and conspircy to manufacture, I will stand by my previous statement that that is a victimless crime. Rape, murder, assault, theft, fraud, drunk driving...those are crimes with discernible victims. But dealing drugs is not something that in and of itself creates a victim...the only reason that this would create a "harmful" environment for the child is because the drug in question is illegal.

The methamphetamine being illegal was only one factor in this child being brought up in a "harmful" environment.

And obviously the girl recognized that her situation was so bad that she was willing to turn her parents into the police.

Now, some of you may say that methamphetamine is much different because it is addictive. However, this is also a moot point. Tobacco and alcohol are addictive but you wouldn't claim that any child in a house with any amount of tobacco or alcohol are victims (or would you).

Compare and contrast a methamphetamine addict to someone addicted to tobacco or alcohol.

Compare and contrast the effects of methamphetamine to the effects of tobacco or alcohol.

And a child being raised by an alcoholic parent can most certainly be in an abusive or harmful situation depending on the circumstances.

It is possible to use methamphetamine (or any drug for that matter) responsibly.

It's obvious that when you're manufacturing methamphetamine from your own home while raising (or not raising) a 14 year old child that you're not responsible. End of story.

So the risk that you claim was posed to her was the possibility that she could lose her parents. Yet, she is the one that precipitated her to actually lose them. Irony?

She hasn't lost her parents for good. And this way there's a chance they might be functional enough to be decent parents later on in her life.

 

[Love In Vein]

Those idiots deserve getting busted. They should have got rid of the stuff since they were already being investigated.

If the police came to the door and a consented search was refused, they probably had an officer wait at the scene to prevent the suspects from destroying evidence while another officer awaited the warrant to be faxed to the cop car parked out front.

 

[Love In Vein]

It's hard for me to say what the "right thing to do" is here, its a tough call. I think the girl will understand just what has happened when shes living with her foster parents visiting her real parents on the weekends in the county jail.

Having known a few people in similar situations:

1) she'll probably be living with a relative or relatives or family friends. this is real life, not a tv show.

2) she probably wants absolutely nothing to do with her parents any time soon until they've sobered up for a while and get themselves mentally put together again.

 

[blah]

Love in vein, you make it sound like they were making anthrax in their home.
What a very tragic situation this is,its one thing to be addicted to drugs(disease) and its another to be put in jail by your own daughter, maybe because she was having a bad day?

If it wasn't for the war on drugs this wouldn't have happened in the first place. If it was merely, that the child would be placed in suitable care, and the parents had to attend drug rehabilitation then it would be quite reasonable that the girl would 'inform' upon her own parents. Being 14, she would no doubt understand that they could be going to jail for a very long time. Poor girl, she will probably regret this for the rest of her life. But really, just an innocent girl caught in in the 'war on drugs'.