A Minnesota man who is serving life in prison is fighting for his fathers’ rights during an ongoing legal battle with his child’s guardian. The man is serving a life sentence for brutally murdering the girl’s mother while the child was also in the apartment. He has admitted to cutting the woman’s throat while the baby slept in an adjacent room. Now, he is seeking to block the girl’s adoption by her maternal grandmother.
Family members of the decedent are understandably horrified about the efforts, which are just another chapter in the ongoing legal battle to secure custody. The child’s maternal grandmother is currently raising her, though that decision was only reached after a legal battle that lasted two and a half years. The mother of the convicted murderer sought custody of the child herself.
Still, our nation is committed to protecting the rights of parents, even those who take questionable actions. As such, the man’s attorney argues that his client has never been proven to be an unfit father. Even though he is serving a life term, he still deserves access to his child and should have a say in the way the girl is raised.
The little girl’s maternal grandmother is vehemently opposed to any influence from the convicted murderer, instead vowing to fight against the man’s fathers’ rights in court. If all goes well in prison, the man would be eligible for parole in three decades; his daughter would be 32.
Even in the most abhorrent cases, it is critical to remember that parents still have some rights to make decisions about the welfare and care of their children. Even if you are not in such an extreme situation, you can benefit from the legal counsel provided by a qualified family attorney. These professionals can help you learn more about your individual rights as they pertain to your Minnesota child custody agreement.
Source:
minnesota.cbslocal.com, “Man serving life for murder holding up daughter’s adoption” Liz Collin, Jul. 26, 2013