DMITRY YAKOLEV/CHASE HARRISON: A FEW WEEKEND UPDATES

NOTE: I want to thank the hundreds of Russian-language readers who are reading Bastardette and Nikto Ne Zabyt regarding Dima. . Thank you very much for your friendship and support and caring about adopted Russia's adopted children in the US.

******

MORE RUSSIAN REACTION
I still can find no official statement regarding the Harrison verdict on the Russian Embassy or the Foreign Ministry pages.

A press release from the Ministry of Education and Science is now on the ministry's English-language page:

Excerpt:
The justificatory verdict casts doubt on effectiveness and reliability of the protection of adopted children's rights system in the USA and will result in toughening the requirements to Russian children's adoption by USA citizens. We must be sure that our children's rights are entirely protected in this country; and if a tragic incident happens, even because of an action by accident, severe punishment will be inevitable", - stressed A. Levitskaya.

WUVR: Voice of Russia Broadcasting (English)
December 18, 2008 (English)
US Adoption System in Need of Review

Excerpt:
The Virginia Court’s decision went virtually unnoticed in the US media, but it was give high prominence in Russia’s media which overwhelmingly deplored the court’s ruling... This horrible case prompts obvious questions. How could a grow-up person believed to be in his right mind could be so careless as to leave an infant in mortal danger even for a minute? And if the man isn’t in his right mind, how was it possible for his family to adopt a child in the first place?

Russia Today (English)
December 18, 2008
Moscow outraged over adopted Russian boy manslaughter

Excerpt:
Russian Foreign Ministry says it's outraged by the decision to clear Miles Harrison, who left the baby in a car during blazing summer heat.

Due to spacing problems, I am posting the English-language video news report that goes with this article at the bottom of this entry.

MORE AMERICAN RESPONSE
Over at the Washington Post there's a civilized discussion about Marc Fisher's column Why Was Father of Who Killed Son in Car Acquitted? AND a survey on the verdict. As I write this, only 51% disagree with Judge Ney and the acquittal.

Excerpt:
As much as the father has suffered, and as much as he proved in court that he truly did love and adore that boy, Judge Terrence Ney's decision unjustly fails to hold Harrison accountable for his negligence. Just because someone who does wrong feels terribly about his misdeed does not absolve the justice system of its responsibility to hold all of us to a standard of decent behavior... and

It's hard for me to see how anyone, parent or not, could conclude that leaving a child unattended for a full day in a steamy hot car--essentially forgetting about the existence of the life that you have been entrusted with protecting and cherishing--could be chalked up to accident.

One Response:
Outrageous, but not surprising. Take this scenario and change the economic circumstances of the parents to poor or working class. Or change the social characteristics to or black. There would have been a different decision. Judges don't like to punish people who they perceive as good, except for one 'mistake.' The law is interpreted favorably for the 'right' kind of people. The 'wrong' kind of people know this, which explains their low opinion of and trust in the justice system.

IT'S ABOUT ADOPTION
Finally, Baby Love Child has written a tremendously important blog on why the Harrison case IS about adoption: Dmitry's Death and Miles Harrison's Acquittal, Part II, The American Reaction. . Part 3 just went up, but I haven't had a chance to read it yet.

She has quoted part of it in her comment posted on my previous blog, but I want to put an excerpt here:

...the American audience fails to understand the important responsibilities an adoptive couple take on when they sign on to adopting a child. Perhaps the primary difference between a child in an adoptive situation and children born to their parents is that adoptive families are on some level (allegedly at least) vetted. They have agreed to take on the task of raising a child that is not biologically their own. They have had to prove that they will make “fit” parents to the child that will eventually come to be placed with them. When they sign the adoption papers, they have intentionally taken on the responsibility for that child. Add in the international adoption component, in the case of Russian adoptees, they retain their Russian citizenship, and what you have is essentially, an American couple that has jumped through enough hoops as to agree to take on not only raising a child who is not their own flesh and blood, but is additionally a citizen of another country. This carries with it many responsibilities, above and beyond what biological parents face. Be that reporting obligations back to the country of origin, or obligations to be attentive, and to provide safety and security. Adoptive parents sign their names to promises pertaining to the ongoing disposition and welfare of the child they are adopting.

******

It is clear that Moscow isn't happy and intends to take a hard line on this judicial miscarriage. The Russian government and the media are watching and reporting on the case carefully including the apparent non-interest outside the Beltway. (Obviously, if the Harrisons had lived somewhere else and weren't Washington Somebodies, WDC wouldn't be paying much attention either. (ex: The recent Emelyantsev case in Utah). I expect to see repercussions from this American folly that go way beyond adoption. US officials have used international adoption in the past as leverage to push other countries around, but this time, they might just get a kick in the pants back.

By the way, there has been no comment from European Adoption Consultants, who handled the adoptions of Chase and Logan Higginbotham (scroll down) and who ended up dead when her forever mother cracked her skull open on a bedroom wall.l But they sure have been reading what I have to say about them.

ADDENDA: December 20, 6:30 PM: I no sooner posted this entry when a story from WJLA-TV came through, Adoptive Parents Worry After Loudon Man is Acquitted in Son's Death. It should be titled Adoption Industry and Adoptive Parents Worry... The usual ME ME ME with absolutely no comprehension of what went down at Fairfax Courthouse or a care for Dima. The article has a link to the video, which has much more impact than the written story.


Russia Today Video:

HARRISON VERDICT: A GROWING "INTERNATIONAL INCIDENT"

NOTE: For a complete listing of my entries on the Dmitry Yakolev/Chase Harrison case go to "labels" in the right sidebar and click on "Dmitry Yakolev" or "Chase Harrison." The same articles are archived under both names. Also, for international readers, at the top of this page is a link to the Reverso translator.

Over the last couple days some commenters have observed that the Yakolev/Harrison case is not so much about adoption, but a sad commentary on American life: that a child, adopted or not, can be forgotten in a hot car and die, while parents go about their hectic lives forgetting what they did with him or her. In a general sense, I don't disagree with this. The dead baby in the hot/cold car is largely an American phenomenon. In fact, I wrote in my previous blog:

Yet Dima, who died in part, because of the wacky American consumer lifestyle, deserves justice, which has not been served him. Privileged workaholic exburanites do not always good parents make, even with their open checkbooks.

Russia, however, doesn't view Dima's death as an American lifestyle dysfunction. The verdict is viewed instead as an American adoption dysfunction and a miscarriage of justice that calls into question the status and rights of adopted children--Russian citizens-- in the US. For some, the argument extends to all children adopted and living in the US.

Earlier today I wrote about the Russian reaction and one implication to the verdict--a toughened post-placement policy for US adopters. But things have heated up considerably since this afternoon. Ministries and the Russian press have ramped up the attack I suggest you go to my previous blog as background and then come back here.

Here is the update.

Pravda via ITAR-Tass, under the headline US man who made adopted son die terrible death in hot car found not guilty, quotes Russian Embassy press secretary Yevgeny Khorishko:

It is an open secret that US courts often use exemption law in their practice. This is exactly the reason why Miles Harrison avoided a prison term. The Supreme Court of the State of Virginia ruled in 1930 that a person, who incidentally murders another person, even if he or she can be accused of negligence, shall not be considered a criminal if his or her negligence is not the consequence of complete disdain for human life...

We suggest the US authorities should appeal against the blatant ruling, which relieves the murderer of the juvenile Russian citizen of responsibility. The unfair verdict must be revised...

We do not understand, what was guiding the judge when he found no formal element of a crime in the actions of the adoptive father and relived him of punishment. We know how strict US laws are when it comes to the protection of children’s rights. In this case, however, we do not understand the gentleness, which the judge showed to the man, who had left the little boy locked up in his car to die a terrible death in sweltering summer heat.

Stronger criticism comes from the Russian Foreign Ministry. The complete statement does not appear yet on the Foreign Ministry English-language webpage, but excerpts were quoted in today's Loudoun (Virgina) Times which went online tonight: Not guilty verdict of Purcellville man could become international incident

The child, originally named Dmitry Yakolev and later re-named Chase Harrison, was adopted from Russia at a cost to the Harrisons of about $80,000. At the time of his death the toddler was still a Russian citizen, according to the Russian Embassy.

"He would have remained a Russian citizen until he reached legal age, at which time he could renounce his citizenship if he chose," said Yevgeniiy Khorishko, press secretary for the Russian Embassy in Washington, DC. "It is just awful that the person who killed this child has been pardoned," Khorishko added.

On Dec. 18, Russia's Foreign Ministry condemned Harrison's acquittal in an official statement, "We are deeply angered by the verdict of the Fairfax County Court in Virginia. We consider it to be repulsive and unprecedented, even if in this case--unlike in others--it was criminal negligence thqt led to a tragic outcome, rather than deliberate ill-treatment. The decision of the judge, who did not see the crime in Harrison's actions and released him without penalty, goes beyond any legal and moral framework," it stated.

And here is a report from The Moscow Times, December 19, 2008: Tough new rules for adoptive US parents featuring Alina Levitskaya from the Ministry of Education and Science and State Duma Speaker Boris Gryzlov:

Russia tightened controls over adoptions a few years ago after several children died at the hands of U.S. parents, and Wednesday's acquittal will lead to a further clampdown, said Alina Levitskaya, head of the Education and Science Ministry's child welfare department. The verdict "casts doubts" on adopted children's rights in the United States and "will lead to a tightening of requirements for the adoption of Russian children by U.S. citizens," Levitskaya said in a statement on the ministry's web site...

Yevgeny Khorishko, spokesman for the Russian Embassy in Washington, said U.S. authorities should appeal the "grievous court ruling acquitting the murderer of an infant Russian citizen," Interfax reported.

State Duma Speaker Boris Gryzlov said he was "disturbed" by the verdict and that Russia should do everything in its power to make adoption a more attractive option for Russian families. "We need Russian children to stay in Russia," Gryzlov told Interfax.

The article also describes domestic adoption practices and policies.

The Harrison verdict is intimately linked to adoption.
Tonight NCFA tried out some damage control: National Council for adoption calls for calm and rational response to Harrison verdict. Acting NCFA president Chuck Johnson acknowledges that it may be difficult to "accept the verdict as appropriate and just,"

but

NCFA encourages a calm and rational response to the verdict, and hopes that the Russian government will continue to work with the United States government and the American adoption community to keep the adoption process between Russia and the United States transparent, safe and successful for the benefit of thousands of Russian-born children. Those who would suffer most from a disruption of Russian adoptions are the thousands of innocent orphans who otherwise would have been adopted into loving American homes.

In other words, things don't look too good! Don't call us; we'll call you!

BLOGGER ALERT: Johnson's statement included this most hilarious quotable NCFA quote since Dr. Pierce darkened its door:

Let me assure the international community that adoptive parents in the United States have the same responsibilities to their adopted children as do biological parents to their biological children.

Dima's death is about adoption, though Americans, too close to the issue, don't see it.
The acquittal is fast becoming a cause celebre. Since yesterday's verdict I've received hundreds of hits on both The Daily Bastardette and Nikko Ne Zabyt. Many of them from Russia (St. Petersburg, Moscow, Tula, Smolensk, Kazan, Krasnodar, Novosibirsk, Spasskova, Tyumen, Yekaterinburg,), Ukraine (Lviv, Kiev, Kharkov ,Krivoy Rog, Simferopol), Lithuania, Estonia, Latvia, Israel, Hungary, Denmark, and Slovenia. I've had over 200 hits from a Russian discussion group on Live Journal. My next project is to try to translate the discussion.


ADDENDA: December 21, 2008, 1:55 PM: I learned as per the comment below that the discussion group which I referred to is actually the blog of Russia's most famous science fiction writer Sergey Lukyanenko, and that he has been writing about the case. I hope this blog and the identical entries which appear on The Daily Bastardetete, have been helpful to him and his readers. I'm honored! Thanks.

RUSSIAN OFFICIALS WANT TO TOUGHEN ADOPTION RULES FOR US AFTER MILES HARRISON ACQUITTED IN DEATH OF DMITRY YAKOLEV

NOTE: For a complete listing of my entries on the Dmitry Yakolev/Chase Harrison case go to "labels" in the right sidebar and click on "Dmitry Yakolev" or "Chase Harrison." The same articles are archived in both. Also, for international readers, at the top of this page is a link to the Reverso translator.

I have seen no direct online confirmation from the Ministry of Education and Science of the Russian Federation, but according to reports from the English language editions of RIA Novistii and Interfax, the Russian government may toughen its adoption rules for the US in the wake of the acquittal of Miles Harrison. Harrison was found not guilty of involuntary manslaughter yesterday in the death of Dmitry Yakolev, whom Harrison and his wife Carol were adopting. Last July, Dima died of heat-related injuries after being left strapped in his car seat for 9 hours in Harrison's SUV while Harrison worked. Harrison claimed he "forgot"to drop the boy off at daycare and "didn't know" he was in the car. How Harrison, "didn't know" Dima was in the SUV when he put him in the vehicle to take him to daycare is tricky legal semantics left for another discussion.

From RIA Novistii:

"We are outraged by the court ruling and believe it to be totally unjust and unacceptable," Alina Levitskaya (right) was quoted by the Education and Science Ministry as saying. "It questions the reliability of the U.S. system of protection of adopted children's rights, and will lead to tougher requirements for U.S. nationals in Russia."

Levitskaya said the ministry would demand that authorities in the United States step up monitoring of children adopted from Russia. She said the education ministry and the Russian Embassy in the United States would seek a guilty verdict for Harrison.

I have no idea what Levitskaya means in the last sentence. Harrison cannot be retried on charges of involuntary manslaughter. Lawyers reading this can clarify, but I believe that other charges, which should have been filed initially as lesser included charges with the involuntary manslaughter charge, could be filed now. For reasons I'll discuss in a later entry, I don't believe that will happen.

The Ministry of Education and Science so far remains silent on what these toughened requirements might be except for increased post-placement monitoring of Russian children and their adoptive families.

Toughening of any kind, post-placement or otherwise, will take place in a maelstrom of ugly protest, finangling, and pressure from adoption agency trade organizations such as the National Council for Adoption, the Joint Council, adoption lawyers and Quad A, adopters, potential adoptive parents (paps) , and the State Department. On the other side we'll get the same from Russian nationalists, child welfare advocates, various Russian ministries, and the Russian public at large who are seriously stirred up at the Harrison verdict. Change won't happen next week, but I can already hear the cry: "The Russians are holding my child hostage!"

In 2007, the US and Russia agreed to tougher post-placement requirements that mandate periodic checks on children placed in the US.

According to the US State Department:

AFTER ADOPTION

What does Russia require of the adoptive parents after the adoption?

Adopted Russian children must be registered with the Government of Russia either by registering with the Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MFA) before they leave the country or by working with their adoption agency to register their adopted children with the G.O.R. when they return to the U.S. If registering prior to departing Russia. U.S. citizen families should do this after an adopted child has received an immigrant visa to the United States.

Russia requires periodic post-adoption placement reports on the welfare of the adopted orphan in his or her American family. The initial post-placement report is due six months after the court decision went into effect. The second report is due six months after the first report but no later than 12 months after the court decision. The third report is due at 24 months and the fourth at 36 months.

We strongly urge you to comply with the wish of Russia and complete all post-adoption requirements in a timely manner. Your adoption agency may be able to help you with this process. Your cooperation will contribute to that country’s history of positive experiences with American parents.

Clearly, there are no teeth in this requirement. The Russian government won't and can't re-take custody of children whose adopters refuse to comply with the rules--even when those rules are written into individual valid adoption contracts. US and state governments have no interest or legal right to disrupt adoptions over post-placement non-compliance.

The onus of compliance falls , then, on adoption agencies to squeeze their non-compliant clients to act in "the best interest of the child" which really means the best interest of the agencies and the best interests of the agencies' meal tickets, adopters and paps, who will be cut out if enough of XYZ Agency's clients tell the Russians to bugger off. The chances of an agency filing a civil claim over contractual non-compliance is nil. Of course, if the non-compliant have another bun in the agency oven, the agency can turn around and use its tried and true methods of threats and blackmail to go compliant. (see Beware BBAS for a rundown on those practices.)

Also important to know is that Russian follow-up procedures and records are in great disarray, so in the end not much of anybody actually knows what's going on.

John Towriss, Adoption Today Washington Bureau Chief, describes the non-compliance problem in his June/July 2007 Adoption Today article, American Attitudes Exposed.[pdf]

Adoption Today spoke with several groups in the adoption community from national umbrella organizations to adoption agencies to adoptive parents. While Americans can be so compassionate in adopting children, once they are home many speak of a change of attitude that reflect the American sense of freedom and individual rights. Several in the field suggested to Adoption Today that new laws in Russia have as much to do with the problem of post-placement reports as anything else.

One described it as "The arrogant American attitude that no government agency is going to tell me how to raise my children." Another put it even more bluntly, "Yes there will be no government agency that will come and take your child away for not filing a post-placement report, but you will be responsible for causing many other children to lose their chance of being adopted."

Yet another said, "It's almost a cavalier attitude, that I'm an American and no foreign country is going to tell me what to do.

Some time ago I heard rumblings that the Russian government was considering upping post-placement investigations until the child is 18. I like this idea and believe that Russia and other countries should mandate continuous post-placement in US placements. You can imagine the uproar on the US side if American children were being placed and killed in Russia. As long as the US adoption industry plays, it oughtta pay. But that will be a tough plane to fly.

While expanded post-placement investigations are a good idea, the Russian government first needs to take a closer look at US agencies working in their own country. The US State Department posts a list of all Hague accredited agencies on its Intercountry Adoption page, but the Russian Federation itself approves US agencies on that list to work within its borders. Some of the Hague accredited agencies on the State Department list are quite horrifying to those of us in the trenches. Also noteworthy, unlike most other Hague signatories whose rules and regulations are about ethical practice, "child's best interest," and identity rights, US regs [pdf] (go to Vol 71, No. 31, and type in "Hague") are mostly about who cuts up the fat accreditation money pie, how agencies can cover their ass, and Homeland Security confiscation of international adoptee records and identity. "Best interest" recommendations to reg writers by numerous agencies, organizations (including Bastard Nation) and individuals were ignored.

I'd like to see The Ministry of Education and Science and any other Russian ministry involved in adoption as well as US investigatory agencies re-investigate immediately, the money-grubbing Margaret Cole and her European Adoption Consultants, the agency that placed Dima with the Harrisons for, according to Carol Harrison, a whopping $70-$80,000. See my entries here (the most important), here and here for other EAC comments. EAC got off the hook after the Dima's death, but there's no reason it should stay off. (Note to Levitskaya: check greasy palms).

(For more on EAC click on "European Adoption Consultants" in the "labels' sidebar to the right.)

EAC also placed Logan Higanbotham (scroll down) who ended up dead when her forever mother Laura Hitganbotham "accidently" cracked open the baby's skull on a bedroom wall. Higanbotham did 1 year on involuntary manslaughter charges. She divorced, remarried, and now has a biological daughter. Another adopted Russian daughter continues to live with her.

The Yakolev/Harrison case is tragic. I want to make it clear that I do not put Dima's death in the same category as the cases of Russian adoptees who have been molested, tortured, and murdered by their forever families. Yet Dima, who died in part, because of the wacky American consumer lifestyle, deserves justice, which has not been served him. Privileged workaholic exburanites do not always good parents make, even with their open checkbooks. ( see No Justice for Dmitry for the justice discussion.)

I am pessimistic about dismantling much of the current adoption machine. Unfortunately, the right to someone else's child has become part of the American psyche. The first step in getting a modicum of justice for the adopted of any age and their families--especially those who have been egregiously harmed-- is to acknowledge that adoption practice in the US is driven by money, greed, and the commodification of children for profit. Certainly there are children in need of adoptive homes, but at what price to them and the rest of us? Only when and if that question wheedles its way into the American psyche might things begin to change.

MILES HARRISON ACQUITTED!

This just in.

This morning Miles Harrison was acquitted on charges of involuntary manslaughter in the death of his adopted 21 month old son Dmitry Yakolev/Chase Harrison. The baby died July 8 when he was left strapped in a car seat for 9 hours in 90+ degree heat while Harrison worked in his office just yards away.

From the Washington Post:

Miles Harrison, 49, collapsed to his knees moments after Fairfax Circuit Court Judge R. Terrence Ney declared that Harrison's conduct did not meet the legal standard for manslaughter. Ney noted that Harrison was, prior to July 8, an unquestionably devoted father to Chase Harrison, the 21-month-old Russian boy he and his wife had been adopted just three months earlier.

"The only true atonement here can only take place within his heart and soul," Ney said, "and he's very fortunate that he's been supported by such a strong and loving family, friends, co-workers and neighbors."

The standard under Virginia law for involuntary manslaughter is "negligence so gross, wanton and culpable as to show a callous disregard for human life." Ney concluded, "The court does not find beyond a reasonable doubt that the elements of involuntary manslaughter have been met. For this reason, the defendant is found not guilty."

Judge Ney added that "no prison term is going to cause more pain than that which he has already suffered."

Prosecutors like to pile on charges to at least get a conviction for something. I'm wondering why this prosecutor put all the eggs in the basket and didn't go for lesser included charges such as child endangerment. I'll go back and see if I have anything on file to indicate that other charges were filed, but I don't believe they were.

I still find it incomprehensible that Harrison "forgot" the baby was in his SUV. According to WaPo, prosecutor Katherine E. Stott said that Harrison had dropped off Dmitry/Chase at daycare several times the previous week, so the daycare stop was not a new experience. The day of the baby's death, besides stopping at the a dry cleaners on the way to work, Stott said that Harrison had also made 13 cell phones calls on his way to work with Dmitry/Chase in the car.

I will be adding comments to this entry as the day goes on, but I wanted to get it out now.

People have been convicted and sentenced to hard time for a lot less than this.

ADDENDA:

December 17, 2008, 1:52 PM: WJLA Noon News video, (right sidebar) including short interview with Harrison's sister.

December 17, 2008, 2:26 PM: Washington Fox News. Go to the "video" sidebar to the right bottom of the story. You may have to go through another story before you get to live report.

December 17, 2008: 2:32 PM: RIA Novisti (English language)

December 17, 2008, 2:41 PM: Here is a piece from National Public Radio on the current state of adoption in Russia both international and domestic. Excerpt: But while Russia remains a leading source for foreign adoptions, Russian authorities are no longer so willing to send their children out of the country. Only about 1,800 Russian children were adopted by Americans this year — down from a high of almost 6,000 in 2004.

December 17, 2008, 4:32 PM: This is an article from the Dec. 14 Washington Examiner which I didn't see until this afternoon. It describes some of the testimony that has not been covered in other media.

ANOTHER DMITRY YAKOLEV/CHASE HARRISON UPDATE: JUDGE REFUSES TO DISMISS CHARGES

Miles Harrison's motion to dismiss the charges against him was denied this morning.

From today's Washington Post:

But Fairfax Circuit Court Judge R. Terrence Ney noted this morning that Harrison had placed Chase in the vehicle and stopped at a dry cleaners on the way to work, and ruled that "the Commonwealth has met her burden of showing a prima facie case for involuntary manslaughter.

Baby Love Child has blogged on this aspect of the trial and commented on the WaPo article which expands the coverage from the initial article I posted last night. It also describes the defense's "strategy" to get Harrison off. Incredibly, Harrison has spent a bazillion dollars on upscale Peter Greenspun's defense argument that he's not guilty of neglect much less involuntary manslaughter, because none of his witnesses testified that Harrison knew the boy was in his SUV. Huh?

Rather than reinventing the wheel, I suggest you got over to BLC and read her comments and analysis, with which I agree.

Speaking of comments, a really offensive comment ( I hate that term, but I don't know what other way to describe it other than barmy) was posted this afternoon in the Post:

rpcv84 wrote:

I propose letting Harrison adopt again and seeing if his behavior becomes a pattern.

12/16/2008 2:26:12 PM

Outside of this being a facetious comment, which I doubt, I can only conclude that adoptees, especially from other countries, are expendable lab rats to be used in testing the competence of paps and adopters. If they don't continue to kill their kids, then they're free to keep them and adopt a few more.

I like to think nothing surprises me any more. Then rpcv comes along.

The Russian press has begun to report on the Harrison trial. I've had ,several hits from the Russian media and this article appeared in the Russian language Gazetta.

No updates from later in the day have have come across my screen yet. When they do, I'll post them.

ADDENDA: 11/16/2008 11:18: Here is a link to a WTTG-TV news video on today's court proceedings.

According to Carol Harrison's testimony the couple spent $70-$80,000 to adopt Dmitry! No mention in the news of what this all covered, but I'm flumoxed! $70-80,000? Did this all go to European Adoption Consultants?

DMITRY YAKOLEV/CHASE HARRISON UPDATE: MILES HARRISON STANDS TRIAL

BREAKING NEWS!

The trial of Miles Harrison, charged with involuntary manslaughter in the death of his adopted Russian son, Dmitry Yakolev/Chase Harrison, 21 months, started today in Faixfax, Virginia. Harrison, in what I believe was a smart move for him, waived his right to a jury trial. His case is being heard from the bench. On July 8, Harrison, left the recently placed Dmitry, strapped in a car seat in his parked SUV at work for approximately 9 hours. According to the Centers for Disease Control, the 91 degree temperature outside means that the inside of the Yukon could have reached 180 degrees.

The defense scheduled 37 witnesses to testify to Harrison's character. Co-workers told the court he collapsed in the parking lot when Dmitry was discovered with the words, "I killed my son. I killed my son." Harrison did not take the stand, but wept throughout the day.

Information, which I have not seen earlier, came out during today's trial. Harrison, as some of us suspected, was not accustomed to taking Dmitry to daycare-- a job his wife Carol, an executive with Homeland Security, usually handled.

Then this astounding revelation: on the way to work, with Dmitry in tow, Harrison remembered to drop off clothes at the dry cleaners AND he remembered to grab his backpack with his work materials from the front seat of the car, just inches away from Dmitry! But he didn't remember Dmitry.

A representative from the Russian embassy is sitting in on the trial. No word on European Adoption Consultants, who disappeared Dmitry/Chase from its webpage months ago.

The judge is expected to come back with a verdict tomorrow morning.

At this posting, coverage from WJLA-TV, WDC, is the only substantial online news on the trial. Russia Today offers a very short piece. You can watch the WJLA news report on the trial at the station site above.

You can full find coverage of this case on this blog.

December 16, 2008, 11:54 AM: ADDENDA: Here is some clarification on yesterday's WJLA's report on the Miles Harrison trial, reported above. That report suggested that the judge would be rendering a verdict this morning, but maybe not.

Harrison's attorney moved for dismissal yesterday, which is what the judge is expected to rule on this morning.

The motion to dismiss the charge came at the end of the prosecution’s case. If Judge R. Terence Ney denies the motion, Harrison’s trial will continue. The case is being heard without a jury.

KAK DELA? WHAT'S UP WITH EUROPEAN ADOPTIION CONSULTANTS?

First the press says they're out of Russia; then it says they're in. AdoptionLand wants to know what's going on, but EAC isn't talking.

As of 10:00 pm tonight, EAC hasn't posted a word on its webpage about the investigation that the Russian Ministry of Education and Science is running it through over the agency's alleged failure to inform timely, officials of the death of Dmitry Yakolev/Chase Harrison as required by Russian law. All we find is a gratuitous we-feel-your-pain-cover-your ass note on Dima's death at the top of its webpage which ends with:

We are currently assessing the situation and continuing to work with the Russian Federation in this matter.

Shouldn't that read: the Russian Federation is currently assessing us?

SILENCE IS GOLDEN...AND SO IS THE EGG
As far as the public face of EAC is concerned, everything is snug as a bug in Strongsville,

According to the EAC- friendly blogger at Russian Adoption Journey, who finds herself a tad frustrated at the agency's lack of communication, EAC isn't sharing much information with anxious paps who ask.

From "Mixed Media Message,"July 21, 2008 (emphasis mine):
Despite internet articles and blogs to the contrary, our adoption agency told me this afternoon that by all indications, they will keep their license. A formal ruling is expected Thursday. Apparently, three agencies have been banned from further Russian adoptions, but have no relevance to this case whatsoever.

Then, "No Word Yet," July 24, 2008 (emphasis mine)
So far, we've received no word from our agency, EAC, regarding the outcome of their hearing today. However, I did find this article online which sounds promising.

http://www.moscowtimes.ru/article/1010/42/368946.htm

Rather than sit here and speculate though, I'm just going to wait and call them tomorrow. I'm a little frustrated though that they haven't updated their website or sent out an e-mail as promised! At the very least, I feel like they should put "no decision yet" or something to keep people from going crazy due to our lack of information!

And finally, "Still on Hold" July 26 (emphasis mine):
I called the agency Friday. Although there was a meeting scheduled, one of the main Russian decision-makers is out of town on vacation, pushing any possibility of news at least two more weeks into the future. EAC did say however, that they are still receiving referrals from Russia!?!

Of course, it is! Why should a little matter of a government investigation stop high-end bottom feeders such as EAC from busine$$ as usual? What, after all, are a couple of death-by-adoptions in the global redi$tribution of children into Forever Homes and pap and adopter dollars into the EAC family purse? It's not like agencies tell anybody what they do anyway.

See, it's kind of a cult. They break you down and then build you up buttercup baby. You get a second mortgage on your house and sell your old clothes on Ebay. Your church raises $1400 for your adoption fund. Your mother-in-law loans you another $10,000 that she knows she'll never see again. You turn it all over to the agency, and it gives you baybee-saving God-endorsed entitlement to Sasha, Dasha, Pasha or Masha even if you've never seen their picture and don't know the difference between styl and stol.

GIVE ME MY CHILD LEST I DIE
The agency owns your soul and "your" agency-created child, and it can do anything with them it wants. And it will.

Welcome to the silence!

At least we now have a vague timetable of when events may play out. In 10 days or so we could know if EAC is in or out (barring the possibility that some other official will decide to take off to Latvia on a fishing trip or a week in the village). Will EAC tell us or will we have to learn it off a blog?

Read Beware BBAS: An Experiment in Literary Investigation by Dan and Elizabeth Case to see just how bad it gets.

RUSSIAN NEWS VIDEOS ON KOLYA EMELYATSEV AND DMITRY YAKOLEV/CHASE HARRISON

Last week I found a great Russian blog: Russian Videos from Russia hosted by Svet and Kyle Keeton in Moscow. For an expat in need of a daily dose of real life Russia, this is an ideal site. Documentaries, cartoons, liturgy, Soviet pop, ducks--they've got it all. I added Svet and Kyle to my Blog Catalog as a "friend" and linked their blog to this page.

Over the weekend, much to my surprise Svet and Kyle posted some Russian news videos about the Kolya Emelyantsev and Dmitry Yakolev/Chase Harrison cases as well as a story on Russian domestic adoption. If you look quick you'll see a possibly heretofore unpublished picture of Viktoria Bezhenova/Nina Hilt in the video (1/1).

The videos are in English or with an English voice over. There is also a link to a new Russian advertising campaign encouraging domestic adoption. There's no separate URL for the videos, just scroll down to July 27, 2008.

большое спасибо

EUROPEAN ADOPTION CONSULTANTS: LIVING LARGE OFF THE MISERY OF OTHERS

Curious minds wonder. Just how much does European Adoption Consultants, the placing agency of two Russian children who ended up dead at the hands of their Forever Families,* rake in each year? Since I'm not an accountant, I'm not going to pretend to interpret their IRS 990s, available on Guidestar (free registration required). There's a lot more than these figures: salaries, expenses, inventory. Perhaps somebody else can elaborate. In the meantime, here's a sample:

GROSS
2004: $7,568,621
2005: $8,197,469 (adjusted to $8,257,994 on 2006 990 form)
2006: $ 7,809,150
TOTAL: $23,565,240 (adjusted to $23,635,765)

NET ASSETS AND DEFERRED BALANCES
2004: $890,593
2005: $1,044,505
2006: $890,141
TOTAL: $2,835,229


EAC Director Margaret Cole-Hughes' salary:
2004: $194,000 + $70,000 in benefits and deferred compensation
2005: $194,000
2006: $194,000
TOTAL: $582,000+70,000

I guess the day of the kindly but poor social worker played by Beulah Bondi has gone the way of...well...Beulah Bondi.

EAC is a Hague Accredited by the Council for Accreditation, It is a member of The Joint Council on International Children's Services and the National Council for Adoption.


*Logan Higginbotham, November 25, 1998
Dmitry Yakolev/Chase Harrison, July 8, 2008

DMITRY YAKOLEV'S/CHASE HARRISON'S DEATH AND THE LINQUISTIC OBJECTIFICATION OF ADOPTEES

Blogger Baby Love Child, using the tragic death of Dmitry Yakolev/Chase Harrison as a focus, has written an excellent piece on the objectification and com modification of adoptees. The essay begins with a review of what I have posted about the case here and on The Daily Bastardette. She then moves into her analysis of linguistic objectification, depersonalization and co-option of adoptees, and finally the silencing of adoptees' voice within the American adoption system.

With her permission I am reposting it here.

*********

I've been neck deep in Vietnam and Guatemala adoption related research, and thus have gotten behind on much of the coverage I'd been working on. This past week has quite possibly been one of the worst weeks I've tracked. Hopefully over the next week I'll begin to catch up, with luck,
I hope to be getting some of the details from over the past week up in various posts.

That being said, Bastardette has been picking up some of the slack. She's been tracking many of the details relating to Dmity Yakolev, and the aftermath of his death.

Allow me to point out three of her recent posts:

SPUNNING INTO CONTROL: MILES HARRISON HIRES HIGH PROFILE DEFENSE ATTORNEY PETER D. GREENSPUN

From this past Monday, July 21rst, '08. In which she writes about the defense attorney hired to take on the Harrison case.

MILES HARRISON INDICTED IN DEATH OF SON CHASE HARRISON/DMITRY YAKOLEV

From Wednesday the 23rd, In which she writes about the Monday indictment by a Fairfax Country (Virginia) grand jury on the manslaughter charge. Bastardette points her readers toward this Washington Post article, Father Indicted in Toddler’s Death in Hot SUV, also
from Wednesday which includes the following:

Harrison waited in the audience with his family until his
case was called. Chief Deputy Commonwealth's Attorney Ian M. Rodway
asked Fairfax Circuit Court Judge Marcus D. Williams to set a $10,000
bond for Harrison.

and

Williams set bond at $5,000, and Harrison was handcuffed
and taken out of the courtroom by sheriff's deputies. Harrison did not
speak during the brief arraignment. Greenspun declined to comment afterward.

Harrison posted the bond and was released yesterday afternoon, Fairfax
jail officials said.

Quoting Bastardette's posting:

One new piece of information was revealed in court
documents: Harrison arrived at Project Solutions Group at about 6:45 AM
which means that Chase/Dmitry was left in the hot sealed- up SUV for
approximately nine hours. Temperature inside the Yukon could have
reached as high as 180 degrees.

According to, Leesburg Today, Harrison's next court appearance is scheduled for August
27.

Finally, we come to Bastardette's Third posting,

CHASE HARRISON/DMITRY YAKOLEV BURIED–EAC PROFITS

From today, Thursday the 24th. In which Bastardette points readers towards this July 22nd Fairfax Times article, Purcellville toddler remembered

Note that paragraph three reads:

Born Oct. 1, 2006, in Russia, Chase was the son of Carol and
Miles Harrison.

It is not until paragraph seven that readers learn Chase/Dmitry was adopted (or in the process of being adopted? We're still unclear whether the adoption was finalized or not at the time of Dmitry's death.)

It remains unclear whether his biological mother and father have been notified of his death or not.

The article continues:

"It's not what we gave him but what he gave us," said a
family friend, who eulogized the smiley toddler with blond
hair.

Once again, we see that myth of 'adoption as purely an act of altruism' raising its proverbial skirts just a bit to give us a glance of what lies beneath, child desire, and what adopting a child can mean for those both family and friends affected by such.

Perhaps had more thought gone into what they could give Dmitry, instead of what he 'gave others', he might still be alive today.

It is not an adoptive toddler's responsibility to "give" to those surrounding their adoption. It is the responsibility of those adopting (and the community they welcome around them) to "give" to the adoptive child. That is what they legally signed on for when they entered the process of trying to become adoptive parents, they agreed to provide for a child. Be that a home, food, relationships free from abuse, or simply attention- attention enough to not be left to bake in car for almost nine hours.

But those who view children as 'there for the adults' are part of the problem in all this, not a part of the solution. It is precisely these attitudes that lie at the heart of some of the adoption paradigm, that we as one time children were supposed to 'be there for' the adults, or that our presence was supposed to somehow 'complete' them, etc. This becomes adoption as something no longer focused on the needs of a child, but instead on the needs, psychological or otherwise of the adults.

And all too often, that's the dirty little secret that hides beneath the 'adoption as altruism' paradigm's skirts.

I am not speaking specifically of the Harrisons in this, but rather the broader underlying cultural assumptions that many seem to walk around with, that treat adopted children as accessories, as the latest 'in' thing, or even as a way of 'completing' their adopters.

Or as Miles Harrison's letter read at the service described Dmitry:

Chase would "always be our perfect gift."

Children are not gifts. Not things. Not objects, be that a "gift" from a family of origin in Russia, nor "gift of god". Adoptees are people. And depersonalizing and depersonifying language such as "gift" is part of the underlying attitude that leads to things such as children being left in cars. After all, if you forget to drop off the dry cleaning (an inanimate object) on the way to work, it's no biggee. You leave a "gift" in the backseat, even in the summer heat, and it's no biggee.

But you leave Dmitry, a child in the backseat, in the summer heat, and suddenly everthing's different. Because now we're talking about Dmitry, a dead child. and that's larger than I have words for. It's massive. (Oh, and an international incident.)

Dmitry was a person, and in his memory, the very least that could be done to honour his memory would be a careful reevaluation of the linguistic mess that makes such mistakes(?) easier to commit.

Those modes of thinking about adoptees are disasters waiting to happen. Adoption needs to be about the adoptees themselves, and their lifelong needs.

Which is why I find the final element to Bastardette's blog entry so chilling. The Harrisons want contributions to go to 'project sunshine c/o European Adoption Consultants', (EAC) which is to say, the agency that placed Dmitry with the Harrisons.

From an adoptive couple's perspective, I suppose it makes some degree of sense, 'give donations to the agency we got our (now deceased) child from'.

But from an adoptee perspective, Dmitry would likely still be alive in Russia had it not been for EAC and the adoption and Mr Harrison being given Dmitry that morning. 'Give donations to the very agency that was part of the chain of events that led to his death'?

Seriously?

But where is that adoptee perspective ever expressed? Where would anyone ever even see it?

I'm not claiming to be a voice OF Dmitry in these matters, I'm just an advocate FOR Dmitry and kids like him. I'm an adoptee, and I find the prospect revolting. Genuinely sickening.

If the Harrisons went through an EAC screening process as part of the adoptive process, then EAC is the agency that deemed them 'fit' to have Dmitry. No matter what happened the day Dmitry died, mistake or otherwise, that particular day Miles Harrison did not have Dmitry's best interests at heart, or on his mind. Call it an almost nine hour long 'momentary lapse' if you must, but Dmitry was simply not foremost on Miles Harrison's mind that day, and Dmitry was his responsibility.

EAC placed Dmitry with the Harrisons. They are to some degree part of that process that led us here.

EAC should not be monetarily rewarded for placing a child who died as a result of his (potential?) adopter's actions.

Doubly so when this is the second child EAC has placed that has died as a result of the actions of those that adopted them. (See Logan Higginbotham.)

CHASE HARRISON/DMITRY YAKOLEV BURIED--EAC PROFITS

Services for Chase Harrison/Dmitry Yakolev were held last Wednesday (July 16) at St. Francis de Sales Catholic Church in Purcellville. The Tuesday edition of Leesburg Today published a full account, "Purcellville Toddler Remembered."

Miles Harrison remained hospitalized, but a letter from him to Chase was read at the service:

“I want you to know how much I love you and how much I will always love you,” Miles Harrison wrote, saying Chase would “always be our perfect gift.”

He wrote of how he and Chase would sing together and how he would put Chase on his shoulders and march along to the Ohio State marching band...

Chase was buried in Ebenezer Cemetery in Round Hill.

So far, so good. I really don't have much more to say about this incredibly sad event...

Except...

Memorial donations may be sent to Project Sunshine, c/o European Adoption Consultants Inc., 12608 Alameda Drive, Strongsville, OH 44149.

Excuse me while I get sick.

There now, I'm back

Just when I thought the adoption industry couldn't get any lower...

Chase/Dima is the second EAC Russian child to die at the hands of Forever Families. In November 1998, Logan Higginbotham died of massive head injuries. Her adoptive mother Laura claimed the toddler accidentally hit her head on the floor of an upstairs bedroom, but three years later medical experts concluded that her head had been intentionally slammed into a wall. Laura Higginbothman spent one year (yes, one year!) in prison. I wonder if EAC made money off her her death, too.

I want to make it clear that I do not put this case in the same category of those children who have been murdered, and even tortured, by their adopters. But I simply cannot get over the the cheek, the audacity--I don't know what to call it--of shilling on the grave of this child. Perhaps some readers can come up with better words than I can.

Obviously, the Harrisons made this decision, but who whispered in their ear?

Has EAC no shame?

MILES HARRISION INDICTED IN DEATY OF SON CHASE HARRISON/DMITRY YAKOLEV

Miles Harrison was indicted Monday on a charge of manslaughter in the July 8 death of his son Chase Harrison/Dmitry Yakolev. According to the Washington Post and other metro media, Harrison, came to the courthouse directly from the private psychiatric hospital he's been holed up in since Dima's death.

At the brief arraignment Chief Deputy Commonwealth's Attorney Ian M. Rodway asked Fairfax Circuit Court Judge Marcus D. Williams to set bond at $10,000. The court refused defense attorney Peter Greenspun's request for signature bond, but agreed to reduce bond to $5,000. Harrison was immediately arrested and cuffed. He bonded out in the afternoon. Harrison declined comments to the press. Greenspun, speaking of Harrison said, ""He's doing okay, but he's still pretty fragile."

One new piece of information was revealed in court documents: Harrison arrived at Project Solutions Group at about 6:45 AM which means that Chase/Dmitry was left in the hot sealed- up SUV for approximately nine hours. Temperature inside the Yukon could have reached as high as 180 degrees.

According to Leesburg today, Harrison's next court appearance is scheduled for August 27.

I have other news on the case, which I will post separately in a little while.

SPUNNING OUT OF CONTROL: MILES HARRISON HIRES HIGH-PROFILE DEFENSE LAWYER PETER D. GREENSPUN

This morning's Washington Post reports that the Fairfax County Grand Jury could indict Miles Harrison on manslaughter charges as early as today. Harrison, reportedly suffering from nervous collapse at the scene of Dmitry/Chase's death, later upgraded to a heart attack, remains in a private psychiatric hospital and has not been arrested. Herndon authorities agreed not to serve Harrison with a manslaughter warrant until his release, but Friday Fairfax Commonwealth's Attorney Raymond F. Morrogh said they can't hold off indefinitely. In the meantime, Herdon police have removed computers, a backpack, prescriptions, life insurance policies and Dmitry's adoption information from the Harrison's home and are re-checking information from interviews taken earlier.

Miles Harrison has retained high profile Fairfax attorney Peter D. Greenspun to represent him. Greenspun previously defended Washington DC Sniper John Allen Muhammud, sports announcer Marv Albert, and Potomac, Maryland civic leader and "internet child predator" Rabbi David A Kaye.

The April 2002 Washingtonian rated Greenspun the 14th best lawyer in Washington, DC, just below Ken Starr (#7), Monica Lewinsky's attorney Plato Cocheris (#9) and Robert Bork (#13). A year and a half later, the Washingtonian named Greenspun one of the top 30 lawyers in the Washington DC metro area (#10) and the top defense attorney in Virgina.

Cases that end with a plea or a

conviction can be some of the most satisfying cases because you

know they’re going to get help.”

Cases that end with a plea or a

conviction can be some of the most satisfying cases because you

know they’re going to get help.”

conviction can be some of the most satisfying cases because you

know they’re going to get help.”

[clients] the help that they need. Cases that end with a plea or a

conviction can be some of the most satisfying cases because you

know they’re going to get help.”

When asked what motivates him to do criminal defense

work, Greenspun cites the opportunity that criminal cases

provide to help challenged people get assistance such as dru

a past president of the Association of

Criminal Defense Lawyers,

Peter D. Greenspun (Greenspun & Mann). Many of his best-known cases have been defeats—but how do you represent the sniper John Muhammad and win? The Fairfax-based criminal-defense lawyer wins most of his cases you don’t hear about and some you do—as when he got TV sportscaster Marv Albert off virtually scot-free from an assault charge. Somebody has to represent the most despised defendants, and Greenspun ends up with many, frequently at personal cost. For that he deserves much credit. He’s the best criminal-defense lawyer in Virginia and one of the best in the nation.

Greenspun is the past president of the Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers.

According to WaPo, Greenspun said he didn't understand the urgency to bring Harrison to court.
"I have seen some pretty difficult and very tragic situations in 30 years of criminal defense practice," Greenspun said. "The sadness here is as bad as it gets for Mr. Harrison and his family and friends. This is a good man who has the unwavering support of his entire family. They are all dealing with their grief in this most difficult of times."

This seems typical of Greenspun's approach. In a profile published in the November 2007 Mason Law News, Greenspun says that being a defense lawyer gives him the chance to get the help his clients need. "It's a chance to figure out what went wrong, and get them help. Cases that end with a plea or a conviction can be some of the most satisfying cases because you know they're going to get help."

And no doubt, "professional help" for Harrison will play a big part in the defense. Since we really don't know what's wrong with Miles Harrison, if anything, staying in the hospital is his first line of defense.

Greenspun can spin all he wants but he knows exactly what's so urgent about getting Harrison into court: the Russian Bear breathing down the back of the State Department, and the State Department breathing down the back of Fairfax County officials. With Harrison hospitalized and now lawyered up with Greenspun, the chance of a quick "settlement" is nil. Look for a protracted investigation and plea bargain down to negligence or some related charge. The real test of a good lawyer is in the penalty, and there is no way leaving a toddler to roast in a car will fly, even with the best defense in Virginia.