Note: This is about justice for the two Hartline children. If you feel this should all be swept under the rug, stop reading now. Otherwise, no complaints.
In February 2015, neighbors summoned police to the Red Bay residence of Richard and Emily Hartline. Police found numerous drugs, including meth, along with their two children being left virtually unsupervised. The Hartlines were arrested, and authorities had the two children tested for drugs. The four year- old boy tested negative, but the 15 month-old girl showed signs of methamphetamine in her system. DHR immediately took the children.
The Hartlines have faced several legal problems since then; Richard Hartline is currently in the Franklin County Detention Center on charges related to the original arrest as well as newer crimes.
At this point, the two Hartline children should have been placed for adoption. Yes, this is our viewpoint and apparently not the stance of the Franklin County DHR. What DHR did was to leave the Hartline children in foster care for over three years. Yes, three years and six months to be exact. Why?
Foster parents are supposedly carefully vetted. Yes, that's why we have a Florida couple indicted in Lauderdale County awaiting trial on physical and sexual abuse. No, the foster mother of the two Hartline children, Roman Nicholas and Haven Grace, decided to place the two on the back of the ATV she was driving on a public road.
Since many news agencies and their writers are obtuse concerning ATVs, many readers are also. ATVs and UTVs are two different machines. ATVs are essentially just two motorcycles with a seat in between. There are no roll bars on ATVs. Unless specially outfitted, they are illegal on public highways. It's also illegal with all models to transport more than two people...usually illegal to transport more than one, depending on the model.
We don't know what this 47 year-old woman was thinking, but she obviously didn't care. Kill these two foster children and the state will give her some more? Let us sincerely hope not.
In fact, let's hope that Franklin County prosecutes this woman to the max. The two Hartline children never had a chance in life. Shall we repeat that?
The State of Alabama made sure the two Hartline children never had a chance in life.