Wednesday, December 13, 2006

Experts testify that 'cages' hurt children's mental health

An update on the case where the parents of young children caged them to keep them under control. The parents previously said that this was done on the advice of a psychiatrist. The behavioral problems of the formerly caged kids is debated. As seen here:

The future for the Gravelle children was in question during the trial of their parents Mike and Sharon.

Today, three psychologists testified that the children, who had to sleep in enclosed beds, did so at a significant risk to their future mental health.

The Gravelle's are accused of keeping their 11 adopted children in so-called cages.

Investigators say they were used for sleeping and discipline.

The Gravelle's maintain that the enclosed beds were necessary to keep the children from harming themselves. The couple said the children set fires, urinated down registers and ate non-food items.

Testimony from the expert witnesses is important to the prosecution. For a conviction on the felony charges, prosecutors must prove the Gravelle's caused substantial harm to the children.

Through questioning, the defense attempted to discredit the experts, indicating their opinions are based on assumptions and not exact science.

The prosecution is expected to rest its case Wednesday morning and then the defense starts.

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