A Perry woman charged with neglect of a dependent and involuntary manslaughter is in the national spotlight once again. Kari Engholm is on trial after leaving her 7-month-old daughter Clare in her van in June.

In order for justice to be served, Engholm should be found guilty of the charges.

Engholm is the chief executive officer of the Dallas County Hospital in Perry. On June 26, her husband Dennis, who usually takes Clare to the baby sitter in the morning, had to go to work early. So Engholm decided to take Clare to the baby sitter that day, after she took her 3-and-a-half year old son Eric to day care. But she forgot to take Clare to the sitter and left her sitting in the van while she went into work for the day.

After work, she picked up Eric and as she was helping him get in the back seat, she noticed Clare, dead.

The infant died of hypothermia, a dramatic change in the body’s temperature. Her death was declared an accident by a state medical examiner.

Charges were rightfully filed by Dallas County Attorney Wayne Reisetter about one month later, bringing a lot of emotions from both sides of the debate. Some thought this woman was a horrible mother who should be held accountable for her actions, actions that resulted in the death of her small child.

Many people were up in arms after the charges, claiming that losing a child and dealing with the grief of knowing she was responsible will cause her to suffer enough. And the same thing is happening now that she is on trial.

Some think she should automatically be found not guilty of the charges, saying it was an accident and not a crime.

But as tragic as it may be, she did break the law.

In order to find Engholm guilty, the prosecution must prove to the judge (the right to a jury was withdrawn by the defense) that she acted recklessly. Recklessness is defined by state law as acting consciously with a disregard of the consequences.

Engholm consciously put Clare in the back seat of the van with the intention of dropping her off at day care, and disregarded the fact that she was there.

And as a result of that recklessness and disregard, Claire died.

It is evident that she broke the law. To dismiss that because Engholm will have to deal with killing her own daughter is wrong. The law is the law and it must be upheld.

Engholm unintentionally killed her daughter. There are few – if any – convinced that it was a deliberate act of murder. She must accept responsibility for that action, as sad as it may be.

Sure, she has suffered and she will suffer, but she should be found guilty of the charges. If the judicial system wants to show some compassion, the sentencing phase is where that should occur.

editorialboard: Andrea Hauser, Tim Paluch, Michelle Kann, Zach Calef, Omar Tesdell