Frida links

for the week 5/23/2008 to 5/30/2008

A Port St. Lucie (Palm Beach, Florida) woman accused of abusing and neglecting 11 children with disabilities, all of whom she adopted, may go to trial soon. She has been accused of forcing the children to sleep on the floor of a closet, binding them with plastic ties and handcuffs, beating them and keeping them away from school and medical care.

A 27-year-old man has been charged with felony second-degree aggravated sexual assault and faces 12 years in prison for sexually abusing a developmentally disabled girl last year.

A woman who killed her adopted developmentally disabled son was given the minimum sentence (3 years) by a judge, who called the event "an anomaly for a woman who dedicated her life to the son," the Cincinati Enquirer reports.

A Gresham (Portland, Oregon) man has been sentenced to 25 years in prison for sexually abusing a 37-year-old woman with developmental disabilities who lived in his mothers adult foster home, the Associated Press reports.

Newsday reports that a Buffalo (New York) man has been accused of shooting a paraplegic man in a wheelchair who was shot by the suspect's brother five years ago.

According to this story from Fox News, a West Virginian woman woke up just after doctors had removed all her life support tubes except for her mechanical ventilation while they discussed the possibility of organ donation.

The New York Times carries this story of how a stroke lead brain scientist (Jill Bolte Taylor) to a new spirituality.

The BC Coalition of People with Disabilities is calling for police officers to better trained to recognize disabilities after two men with disabilities were tasered by RCMP, according to this Canadian Press report.

Conditions for inmates with disabilities at Los Angeles County jails violate federal law, according to two advocacy groups. Consequently, attorneys will file a lawsuit to force the county to comply with the Americans with Disabilities Act, the Times Standard reports.

A 75-year-old man was sentenced to six years in prison for sexually abusing a developmentally disabled woman, the Indy Star reports.

Organisers of the Summer Olympics and the Paralympic Games have asked for the volunteer guide for the two events in Beijing to be amended after it used phrases like "unusual personalities" to describe people with disabilities. (Thanks to Disapedia for the link)