by will sprout

Created on: August 23, 2008

Did Madeleine McCann's parents kill her?

This is a very open' case, where at the moment the scales are balanced equally in both conclusions; guilty or innocent.

It is very easy for one person to come to a conclusion when all of the facts are known but in a case where the facts are not known the formulation of any conclusion can not truly be reached.

All we have are our own beliefs.

But belief is not the same as truth.

I imagine it would be a very difficult for any jury to reach a verdict on which they were all agreed, and that without the introduction of further truth or evidence the outcome would result in a hung jury.

At the moment the only truth we know is that a little girl disappeared.

I have thought about this case since she disappeared and the thought of where the guilt lies as always been with the unknown perpetrator, whoever he or they are. I would hold the parents guilty of neglect and in a sense hold them to account for their irresponsibility, but I would not have the right to accuse them of being solely responsible for the hurt or abduction of their daughter.

The reasons why someone should wish to abduct a young child, especially a girl, are obvious and I prefer not to dwell too much on the thought because of the hurt I would feel inside, especially knowing that there is nothing I can do; I imagine it is the same for you.

We feel so protective but so useless.

If the parents had nothing to do with the disappearance of their daughter try to imagine how much hurt and how so useless they must feel.

If it was one of our children how would we react?

Would we try to put on a brave face and meet the world, or would we crumble in anguish?

At this particular time we would hope that our fears and concerns were shared by the rest of the world, and that they would help us to overcome the grief and the torment that we faced because of our loss.

We would hope that they, the people of the world, would help us in any way they could to find our child, even if it meant giving up a loved one.

We would not expect them to point their fingers and accuse.

No, it is not for us to find guilt or innocence in the parents, their guilt or innocence will be with them at all times, and that will be a greater comfort or a deeper hurt than any of us could express to them.

It is not ours to judge what we do not know the truth about, but it is ours to uphold the laws of our own countries and to maintain the stance that someone is innocent until proven guilty.

If it happened to me I would hope that you would stand with me, as I would stand with you.

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