Danieal Kelly case prosecutor returns to court
Philadelphia's First Assistant District Attorney Edward McCann will return to the courtroom to prosecute the parents of six-year-old Khalil Wimes.
Danieal Kelly case prosecutor returns to court
It was just last July when Philadelphia First Assistant District Attorney Edward McCann nailed down the last three convictions among nine people charged in the horrific 2006 starvation death of Danieal Kelly, the 14-year-old girl with cerebral palsy who was allowed to literally wither away and die in her mother’s West Philadelphia apartment, her body covered with deep bedsores and lying in her own excrement.
McCann, 48, then 22 years into his career as a city prosecutor, had just been named acting first assistant. The administrative workload he was acquiring, he said, was significant enough that he guessed it would be some time before he went back into a courtroom.
Now, nine months later, McCann is returning to the courtroom to prosecute the parents of Khalil Wimes, the six-year-old South Philadelphia boy who died March 19, allegedly after being starved and beaten over a long period of time.
McCann said the similarities between Danieal’s case and the allegations in Khalil’s death drew him to the Wimes' case: “It’s obviously a passion of mine to prosecute child-abuse cases because of the impact they have on the system to make kids safer.”
Khalil’s parents – Tina Cuffie, 44, and Latiff Hadi, 48, have been charged with murder in their son’s death and are scheduled for a preliminary hearing Wednesday at the city’s Criminal Justice Center although McCann said the hearing will be continued.
Cuffie is being represented by J. Michael Farrell and Hadi by Derrick W. Coker.
Police say Cuffie – whose five other children had been removed from her care by city social welfare workers – brought Khalil to the Children’s Hospital the night of March 19, telling doctors that he had slipped and fell in the bathroom.
Authorities, however, determined that the boy’s death was caused by blunt force trauma to the head. Moreover, Khalil weight just 29 pounds, far less than the 45 pounds that was normal for a child his age. And the boy’s face, neck, back and arms were covering with old scars, which investigators alleged was evidence of regular beatings with belts and cords.
Like his siblings, Khalil also had been removed from his mother’s care. Until age 2, Khalil had lived with foster parents who were related to his father and reportedly thrived.
In 2008, over the pleas of his Khalil’s foster parents, extended family, and court-appointed caseworkers, Family Court Judge Charles Cunningham returned Khalil to his parents, apparently after Cuffie and Hadi testified that they had quit drugs and were back living together.
McCann on Monday said it was too soon to comment about what happened to Khalil and added that his office’s investigation was continuing.
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Couldn't agree more. It's bad enough that they behave like farm animals. Drug test them and remove the meal (lobster) ticket.— ritmomente- Is it irony? Regardless of welfare history, Family Court routinely orders drug tests and psychiatric/psychological exams for parents before deciding that children should be returned home. This is especially the case when the parents have prior history of children being removed and/or a substance abuse history.— nebulus
- BTW Cleanup, in the last lengthy article on this sad case you excused judge Cunningham as having too many constraints placed on him.
To be frank: Cunningham has no defense. His hands are the only hands
that are NOT tied by rules. DHS is constrained by rules and guidelines
including, for example, a mandatory pursuit of adoption if other children have been adopted or parental rights involuntarily terminated. It is only the judge who can deny the petition to adopt. If you read the family court/dependent judge bench book you will find guidelines for
conducting the various hearings but they are only guidelines. If you read the state and federal laws and regulations (they are different) then you will find that only a court of competent jurisdiction (i.e. Cunningham) has the authority to order placement, order return to parents, or order some other outcome for the children like placement with relatives, or adoption.
These are not liberal or conservative. The core rules governing this stuff originated with the Reagan admin and linked federal money to compliance with federal rules. They were modified - made more strict and granted more power to the judges - under the Clinton administration.— nebulus - Castrate & tie tubes or more children will be born to abuse and neglect, not to mention an overburdened system where judges are out of their minds or have some other sick agenda.— ptahan
- neblus these fools have no clue.. dont fail to realize their a system above the system.. The parents and the Juadge needs to rot in hell! and regards to d kelly her parents should have been the only ones convicted.. Parents are given random drug screening under these circumstances if you dont know what happens on the inside shut the hell up .....— noncents
- You're right Parents and judge need to rot! D Kelly parents are the only ones that should have been convicted! Except for the federal fraud perpetrated by Multi-Ethnic.
Since I do know what happens in 1801 and have a great deal of experience with the different judges (dependent and delinquent) and since I have read the judge's bench book I don't think I'll shut up.
Let me know when you've read the Juvenile Act or the CPSL or the Adoption Act or the rules of civil procedure or all the friggin' regulations that have been promulgated by DHHS and DPW or understand how Phila receives money from the feds under the social security act.
Feel free to offer your opinion about who rots where. You might want to save the personal attacks for those who clearly have their heads where the sun doesn't shine.— nebulus - cleanup always think he has the answers.. get out of your bubble and go and expplore one day at 1801 vine street and then you would realize how ignorant your comment is on this post..... and on others— noncents
- well neblus... i have and ill leave it there you forget to mention AFSA I know them all to well you want workeres to assess well trust them if not have the judges and advocates go out and do the assessments...because this judge had no clue!!! same as the judge in the josh powell case— noncents
- nebulus i was tellin cleaup to sthu...— noncents
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- this judge should be thrown from the bench and sit in family court!— dgio
- this judge should be thrown from the bench and never sit in family court! hes as bad as the parents when he knew the other children were taken from them because of abuse— dgio
