Committee members support Sen. Diamond bill to prioritize child homicide trials

AUGUSTA – On Tuesday, a portion of the Legislature’s Judiciary Committee voted in favor of a bill from Sen. Bill Diamond, D-Windham. An amended version of LD 1857, “An Act To Prioritize the Prosecution of Child Murder Cases,” would the prioritize the scheduling of homicide trials where the victim is younger than 18 years old in order to help expose flaws in Maine’s child welfare system.

“I’m grateful to the Committee for their thoughtful debate and consideration,” said Sen. Diamond. “When the trials of those responsible for child homicides are delayed, so is the release of critical information about how that child died and what systemic failures let them down. The sooner these trials happen, the sooner we can shed light on this important information and make changes that can save the lives of other children.”

A portion of the Legislature’s Judiciary Committee voted to recommend the passage of an amended version of LD 1857, which would require the Attorney General to formally request that the courts give priority in scheduling homicide cases where the victim is younger than 18 years old. Sen. Diamond introduced LD 1857 after learning that, because of a backlog of cases caused by the pandemic, last June’s child death cases would take longer to go to trial than they typically would, thus delaying the revelation of critical information in these cases.

A longtime advocate for reform in Maine’s child welfare system, Sen. Diamond highlighted key pieces of information that have been brought to light only when past child murder cases have gone to trial. For example, the trial in the death of 10-week-old Ethan Henderson, who was killed by his father in May 2012, revealed the failures of mandated reporters to report Ethan’s injuries to the authorities. The trial also revealed that DHHS caseworkers were in Ethan’s home to conduct a welfare check on him just days before his death, but failed to follow through because Ethan was sleeping. Making failures such as these known has been critical as the Legislature seeks to improve Maine’s child welfare system.

LD 1857 now faces votes in the Senate and the House.