STORY: On Friday a Malawi court is expected to rule about whether pop star Madonna can adopt a second infant from the country. A prominent human rights activist calls it child trafficking. The Human Rights Consultative Committee of Malawi is opposing the adoption, saying the country has no legal framework for such cases. Other critics accuse the government of giving Madonna special treatment when she adopted her Malawian son, David Banda. They say the government ignored laws that ban non-residents from adopting children. One of Madonna’s lawyers says shes asking to be granted an interim adoption of about 18 months. One Malawian human rights activist is speaking out against the adoption attempt. [Undule Mwakasungula, Human Rights Activist]: “We are pushing this for the best interest of the child, for the children who are there who need protecting, who need to be supported. But I think we cannot allow as a nation to let people to just come and take our children without following procedures.” Despite the controversy, Madonna says this case that could pave the way for more adoptions in Malawi, where an estimated one million children have been orphaned by AIDS.
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An 11-year-old Arvada boy was arrested and hauled away in handcuffs for drawing stick figures in school – something his therapist told him to do. The boy’s parents say they understand what he did was inappropriate, but are outraged by the way Arvada Police handled the case. The parents do not want their real names used. “Tim” is being treated for Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder and his therapist told him to draw pictures when got upset, rather than disrupt the class. So that’s what he did. Last October, he drew stick figures of himself with a gun, pointed at four other stick figures with the words “teacher must die.” He felt calmer and was throwing the picture away when the teacher saw it and sent him to the principal’s office. The school was aware that the boy was in treatment, determined the drawing was not an actual threat, notified his parents and sent him back to class. His mother, “Jane,” however, was shocked when Arvada Police showed up at their home later that night. She says she told her son to cooperate and tell the truth, but was horrified when they told her they were arresting him and then handcuffed him and hauled him away in a patrol car. Tim’s mother says she begged police to let her drive her son to the police department and to let her stay with him through the booking process but they refused. Instead, they put him in a cell, took his mug shot and fingerprinted him. He thought he was going to jail and would never be able to go home again …
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