There's Now Even More Wrong with that Texas Polygamy Raid

One of the biggest child-custody cases in US history is rapidly unraveling as legal professionals increasingly raise concerns about the manner in which the original raid was carried out, the treatment of the children removed from their families and the conditions imposed on the mothers of the children.

It's now been 11 days since the original raid on the "Yearning for Zion" compound of the Fundamentalist Latter-day Saints in Texas on April 3rd.

The original purpose of the raid was to rescue a 16-year old "abused child bride" who had allegedly called in a report of abuse from her husband. The State of Texas then took it on itself to remove all the children on the compound from their families because of the original complaint - despite no specific charges against any of the mothers of the children. Indeed the mothers of the children removed and placed in state care were allowed to come along with their kids when they were removed from the compound.

So 11 days later where are we now? The complainant still hasn't been found. Her alleged abuser was interviewed by Texas state troopers in Arizona last week but surprisingly was not arrested.

From CNN:

On Saturday, police questioned the man they believe abused the 16-year-old girl who reported abuse at the polygamist compound that lead to raid of the Yearning For Zion ranch last week. Police issued a warrant for the arrest of Dale Barlow, 50, who they say may be the husband of the girl, however, police have not arrested him because they are not sure if he is the correct man.

"We are continuing to look into whether we have a warrant on the correct person," Tela Mange, spokeswoman for the Texas Department of Public Safety, told the Associated Press. "Until we are able to locate and talk with the complainant it will be difficult for us to know for certain the correct identity of the alleged suspect."

"We have not made an arrest in this case and may not necessarily make one today," Tela told the AP.

Barlow’s attorney told CNN that there is no evidence against his client and that his client had not been to Texas in more than 30 years.

How strange. The man named in the warrant was interviewed but not arrested. You'd think law officers from Texas would have made an immediate arrest rather than let such a dangerous person walk free.

And what about the state of the children removed from their families and housed in decrepit facilities?

In addition to becoming a monumental legal morass, the case is proving to be a public-relations headache for the state.

Over the weekend, some of the mothers went on the offensive, complaining the children are falling ill and are frightened and traumatized from living in cramped conditions at the fort, with cots, cribs and playpens lined up side by side.

The turmoil and confusion deepened Monday when the children were taken by bus under heavy security out of the historic Fort Concho where they had been staying to the San Angelo Coliseum, which holds nearly 5,000 people and is used for hockey games, rodeos and concerts. Authorities ordered the move after some of the youngsters' mothers complained to Gov. Rick Perry that the children were getting sick in the crowded fort.

I can see these kids are much better off in the care of the state of Texas than they were in the care of their mothers.

The mothers of these children have not been accused of any specific acts of abuse. It is important to understand that the State of Texas removed these kids from their mothers without specific evidence that ANY of the children were being abused.

Lawyers said the state told the mothers that if they leave the shelters where their children are being held, they will not be let back in. Griselda Paz of Legal Aid of Northwest Texas said she had never seen such restrictions in 20 years of legal work.

"By isolating them, by not letting them talk to their lawyers or giving them the choice between leaving their children and being able to talk to lawyers and prepare for this hearing, they feel that that's unfair," said Rod Parker, a Salt Lake City lawyer who has represented the FLDS and some of its members in civil and criminal cases. "And of course they are out of their element, they're frightened of all those things."

Betty Balli Torres, executive director of the Texas Access to Justice Foundation, said it is vital that the mothers be represented by lawyers. Otherwise, they could lose their children — "what we call kind of the death penalty of family law cases."

She said 10 women went into the San Angelo legal aid office last week seeking help and reported there were 100 more women who needed lawyers. Attorneys began meeting with the women over the weekend.

This raid is turning, or has already turned into, a complete debacle. Wrong person named on warrant, complainant still not located, children placed in dangerous, crowded conditions, mothers separated from children and told if they leave they'll not be allowed back in contact with them and finally - onerous legal restrictions placed on the mothers, who now risk losing custody of their kids entirely.

Is the State of Texas capable of doing anything involved with this situation correctly?