Jan 23, 2006 10:35 pm US/Eastern
Romney Calls For Review Of Haleigh Poutre Case
BOSTON (CBS4) ―
Governor Mitt Romney is calling for an independent review of the case surrounding a comatose Westfield girl at the center of a life support dispute.
11-year-old Haleigh Poutre has been hospitalized since September. Prosecutors say she was beaten into a coma by her adoptive mother and stepfather.
Last week, the state's highest court gave the Department of Social Services the right to remove Haleigh from life support. Only days later, however, officials said the girl had been removed from a ventilator and was breathing on her own.
DSS Commissioner Harry Spence said Friday that he could not discuss Haleigh's medical condition, but said the state now has no immediate plans to remove her life support.
"One cannot look at the life of Haleigh Poutre without being overwhelmed with sadness," Romney said at a Statehouse news conference. "She was not someone who fell through the cracks -- doctors and social workers were watching. But errors in judgment were made."
Romney's announcement of an independent review comes amid calls from several state lawmakers who also want to question Spence about the department's handling of the case. Some are concerned the department is overburdened and therefore susceptible to missing signs that children are being abused.
Haleigh had been on life-support since her hospitalization with a badly damaged brain stem that authorities say resulted from abuse administered by her stepfather, Jason Strickland, and her adoptive mother, Holli Strickland. Both were charged with assault.
But less than two weeks later, Holli Strickland, who was Haleigh's aunt and Jason Strickland's wife, was found dead alongside her grandmother in a possible murder-suicide.
Jason Strickland fought the state's efforts to remove her life support, but the Supreme Judicial Court ruled unanimously that he could not prove that his role in Haleigh's life was "of a loving or nurturing nature, or even that it was beneficial to the child."
Gov. Romney says the panel will be formed by the end of the week. He wants their recommendations within 30 days.
(© 2006 CBS Worldwide Inc. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. The Associated Press contributed to this report.)
