May 24, 2012
CHARLESTON, W.Va. (AP) -- The death of a 15-month-old girl is prompting the West Virginia Legislature to tighten the state's child neglect laws.
The Senate is considering a bill passed unanimously Wednesday by the House of Delegates. It targets negligence when it creates a risk of injury that is not serious enough to warrant a felony charge.
Delegate Barbara Evans Fleischauer proposed the misdemeanor offense at a prosecutor's request, following the death of 15-month-old Madison Violet Dodson.
Fleischauer says people tried to warn authorities that Madison's parents were neglecting her. But the negligence did not rise to felony level.
The Monongalia County Democrat said the lack of criminal charges allowed Madison's parents to keep custody and move to Pennsylvania. Madison starved to death there in January 2011. Her parents await trial on homicide charges.
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