Patricia Carman
50 years for questioning the ability of the EMS
This is an example of the injustice in many small
towns in Texas and throughout the country. It is an example of
the good
ole boy system and their hatred for city folks who question their
competency. This is her story in her words.
I met my now ex-husband, Steve, in 1986 and we married in 1987. He had 2 daughters from a previous marriage, Loretta age 9 and Stephanie age 2 1/2.We drove from Mississippi to Louisiana to visit the girls one day only to find that they had moved. It took us several days to finally track them down. When we finally found them they were living in a rat and roach infested travel trailer. The children were filty and Stephanie was bloated in appearence.
I was appaled at the conditions. Loretta told us she ate pizza and cereal all of the time (Her mom worked at a pizza place.) and little more. A few weeks later we got a phone call that Loretta needs to see the doctor so we go to pick her up. She had no flesh on the bottom of her feet. It looked like she had been skinned. She could not walk and her mother told us that she had poison ivy. I knew that was not true. We took both of the kids back to Mississippi and to a doctor. It was determined tht she had a Bacterial Infection due to walking in human waste (Her sister's diapers and underpants were callously tossed on the floor in front of the bathroom and she stepped on them many times on her way to her bedroom.
The doctor also detrmined both girls were malnourished which shocked me because both looked chubby to me. In fact once we began to feed them a high protein diet both became extremely thin then began to gain weight.
We kept the kids form this point and raised them. Stephanie had emotional and learning problems due to a sexual assualt by her mother's boyfriend (Determined later in time) and she was hyperactive and had attention deficit disorder. She was a beautiful loving child but could be a real terror too.
I do not profess to being the best parent or perfect parent but one thing is certain, I loved her with all of my being and I did for her what I felt was right and often fought the teachers and school principal about what she could do!!
She was often mislabeled as retarded and such. I refused to let them label her. Perhaps I was too aggressive but I didn't want her to have any more strikes against her then she truly had.
On June 8, 1992 Stephanie had gone through a week of fussing about food. She did this often, only wanting certain food but I would insist she eat what she was served. She fussed a lot but in the end she would eat it. She had eaten some Creamy Chicken Soup and was drinking Ensure. (I gave her supplements like Ensure to be certain that she got the nutrician each day because of her past nutrician with her Mom.) She was in her room (she had the Ensure in there too) playing when she apparently projectule vomited, got scared, aspirated and passed out face down in the vomit. We found her that way , she was still alive but had shallow breathing.
We called 911 and were instructed in CPR and the medics arrived. For 45 minutes I watched them try to shove all kinds of tubes down her throat. I did not see any air going in. The stopped my husband from giving CPR and they did not give her any air again until they decided to move her to the hospital 45 minutes later. (This was their time accourding to the records.) Moments after arrival at the hospital her airway was opened but her heart had "stopped" is what we were told but the records indicate (EKG strips) that she never flat lined.
When she died I demanded and signed for an autopsey because I just knew that she died because they did not move her to the hospital fast enough.
Here is where the town of Lubboch and the "small town mentality" came into play. Once I requested an autopsy the justice of the peace was required to be notified to order it done. He ordered a forensic autopsy at our request.
We were however unaware that the local District Attorney, Travis Ware, (who later was convicted on RICO charges) and both the current pathologist, David Hablet and the previous pathologist, Ralph Erdman. (Who later went to prison for falsification of autopsy reports;) were in co-hoots with each other each other to convict people based on falsified autopsies.
I'm from New York and I am very bold and outspoken and I believe the fact that I had the gull to question the City of Lubbock Rescue Squad made me an ideal candidate for a set up.
The autopsy ws flawed from the start. My husband and I were accused and convicted. My husband was a Texas good ole boy! So in the end the DA tried to make a deal with him, none was ever offered to me. I finally went to trial (my husband and I were tried before the same jury at the same time.) He got 10 years for a 3rd degreee felony and I got 50 years for a 1st degree felony. The jury said I got more because I was her mother!! Well in reallity he was her father. I had no legal responsibility to her at all.
She was not my child, I was not given any parental rights,etc. Now I accepted a moral obligation.
Anyway she died due to choking on food particles. A second autopsy 5 years later proved this but the court refused me an evidentiary hearing which did not surprise me. They denied me to exhume her for 5 years.
My husband served 19 months and was released. I am in my 9th year.
I never committed a crime! The proof is available to anyone! Yet I continue to be held in prison.
I met my now ex-husband, Steve, in 1986 and we married in 1987. He had 2 daughters from a previous marriage, Loretta age 9 and Stephanie age 2 1/2.We drove from Mississippi to Louisiana to visit the girls one day only to find that they had moved. It took us several days to finally track them down. When we finally found them they were living in a rat and roach infested travel trailer. The children were filty and Stephanie was bloated in appearence.
I was appaled at the conditions. Loretta told us she ate pizza and cereal all of the time (Her mom worked at a pizza place.) and little more. A few weeks later we got a phone call that Loretta needs to see the doctor so we go to pick her up. She had no flesh on the bottom of her feet. It looked like she had been skinned. She could not walk and her mother told us that she had poison ivy. I knew that was not true. We took both of the kids back to Mississippi and to a doctor. It was determined tht she had a Bacterial Infection due to walking in human waste (Her sister's diapers and underpants were callously tossed on the floor in front of the bathroom and she stepped on them many times on her way to her bedroom.
The doctor also detrmined both girls were malnourished which shocked me because both looked chubby to me. In fact once we began to feed them a high protein diet both became extremely thin then began to gain weight.
We kept the kids form this point and raised them. Stephanie had emotional and learning problems due to a sexual assualt by her mother's boyfriend (Determined later in time) and she was hyperactive and had attention deficit disorder. She was a beautiful loving child but could be a real terror too.
I do not profess to being the best parent or perfect parent but one thing is certain, I loved her with all of my being and I did for her what I felt was right and often fought the teachers and school principal about what she could do!!
She was often mislabeled as retarded and such. I refused to let them label her. Perhaps I was too aggressive but I didn't want her to have any more strikes against her then she truly had.
On June 8, 1992 Stephanie had gone through a week of fussing about food. She did this often, only wanting certain food but I would insist she eat what she was served. She fussed a lot but in the end she would eat it. She had eaten some Creamy Chicken Soup and was drinking Ensure. (I gave her supplements like Ensure to be certain that she got the nutrician each day because of her past nutrician with her Mom.) She was in her room (she had the Ensure in there too) playing when she apparently projectule vomited, got scared, aspirated and passed out face down in the vomit. We found her that way , she was still alive but had shallow breathing.
We called 911 and were instructed in CPR and the medics arrived. For 45 minutes I watched them try to shove all kinds of tubes down her throat. I did not see any air going in. The stopped my husband from giving CPR and they did not give her any air again until they decided to move her to the hospital 45 minutes later. (This was their time accourding to the records.) Moments after arrival at the hospital her airway was opened but her heart had "stopped" is what we were told but the records indicate (EKG strips) that she never flat lined.
When she died I demanded and signed for an autopsey because I just knew that she died because they did not move her to the hospital fast enough.
Here is where the town of Lubboch and the "small town mentality" came into play. Once I requested an autopsy the justice of the peace was required to be notified to order it done. He ordered a forensic autopsy at our request.
We were however unaware that the local District Attorney, Travis Ware, (who later was convicted on RICO charges) and both the current pathologist, David Hablet and the previous pathologist, Ralph Erdman. (Who later went to prison for falsification of autopsy reports;) were in co-hoots with each other each other to convict people based on falsified autopsies.
I'm from New York and I am very bold and outspoken and I believe the fact that I had the gull to question the City of Lubbock Rescue Squad made me an ideal candidate for a set up.
The autopsy ws flawed from the start. My husband and I were accused and convicted. My husband was a Texas good ole boy! So in the end the DA tried to make a deal with him, none was ever offered to me. I finally went to trial (my husband and I were tried before the same jury at the same time.) He got 10 years for a 3rd degreee felony and I got 50 years for a 1st degree felony. The jury said I got more because I was her mother!! Well in reallity he was her father. I had no legal responsibility to her at all.
She was not my child, I was not given any parental rights,etc. Now I accepted a moral obligation.
Anyway she died due to choking on food particles. A second autopsy 5 years later proved this but the court refused me an evidentiary hearing which did not surprise me. They denied me to exhume her for 5 years.
My husband served 19 months and was released. I am in my 9th year.
I never committed a crime! The proof is available to anyone! Yet I continue to be held in prison.
© Copyright 2002 Patricia Carman