Editor’s Note: Liberty Counsel’s Mat Staver and Lou and Jennifer Pelletier will be discussing the ruling on Wednesday’s Glenn Beck Program at 5pm ET. Not a subscriber? Start your 14-day free trial of TheBlaze TV HERE.
In a shocking ruling, a Massachusetts judge ruled Tuesday Justina Pelletier – the Connecticut teen who has been in the custody of the Massachusetts Department of Children and Families for over a year – will remain in the custody of the Massachusetts Department of Children and Families.
As TheBlaze reported, Suffolk County juvenile court Judge Joseph Johnston granted “permanent” custody DCF. This decision was in response to a motion filed by Justina’s parents, Lou and Linda Pelletier, and her court-appointed lawyer for a “conditional custody” plan. Until this point, DCF only had temporary custody of Justina. That temporary custody had been in effect since February 2013.
“The judge has ruled for permanent custody to go to the state,” Glenn said on radio this morning. “Now, how is that even possible? Two weeks ago, they said to the DCF that they had to prepare to move her to Tufts and prepare her to move back with her family. Two weeks later, he says the exact opposite? Something is wrong here.”
Justina’s parents plan to pursue all options to reverse the court’s latest decision, and it should be noted that the term “permanent” is not quite as finite as it may sound.
Yesterday, the Pelletier family’s spokesman, Rev. Patrick Mahoney, told TheBlaze that, in his understanding, the ruling is not meant to imply that Justina will never be returned to her parents.
“It’s not a lie, but it’s not 100 percent accurate,” Mahoney told TheBlaze. “In putting the word ['permanent'] out without explaining it, it appears to the casual reader that somehow the Pelletiers have completely lost of Justina until she’s 18 years old and that’s not the case.”
At this point, many are probably questioning the role of the parent’s in this case. After all, how could something this sensational actually happen in America? Glenn maintained, however, that in all his and his staff’s dealings with the family, there have been no red flags.
“The Department of Children and Families have been to this family's house,” Glenn explained. “If this family were so monstrous, they would remove the other daughter who has the same disorder… They would remove the 95-year-old grandmother. There's something wrong here, and it's not with the family.”
Late last night, Judge Joseph Johnston’s ruling was published by the Boston Globe and also provided to TheBlaze anonymously. The ruling sheds some light onto the reasoning behind the “huge” decision. TheBlaze’s Jason Howerton isolated four key details from the document, which are outlined below:
4. The judge argues that “credible psychiatric and medical evidence” suggests that Justina Pelletier suffers from a “persistent and severe Somatic Symptom Disorder,” not mitochondrial disease as she was diagnosed with previously.
Justina “is a child in need of care and protection… due to the conduct and inability of her parents, Linda Pelletier and Lou Pelletier, to provide for Justina’s necessary and proper physical, mental, and emotional development,” the ruling states.
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3. Justina’s parents “significantly hampered” DCF’s efforts to find a “suitable placement” for the girl, according to the ruling. The parents, obviously, want their daughter to come home with them instead.
“While Justina was at Children’s Hospital, the parents were verbally abusive to Justina’s hospital providers. Family members of other patients complained that Justina’s parents stated their children were being kidnapped by Children’s Hospital,” the ruling says. “They threatened to call the F.B.I. They called hospital personnel “Nazis” and claimed the hospital was punishing and killing Justina.”
The court also accuses the parents of using “profanity” directed at DCF personnel.
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2. The judge has determined “placement of Justina in the conditional custody of her parents is not in her best interests at this time.”
Judge Johnston officially ordered Justina into the custody of DCF, “subject to the parties’ right to review and redetermination” six months from the adjudication on Dec. 20, 2013.
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1. Psychological and clinical evaluations of Justina’s parents, Lou and Linda Pelletier, are “necessary.”
However, the judge declined to order the evaluations to be conducted by the Boston Juvenile Court Clinic.
“These are evaluations, along with other services, that must be coordinated by the CT DCF for this Connecticut facility,” the order states.
Ultimately, a young girl’s life hangs in the balance, and Glenn urged his audience to continue to pray for Justina and her family.
“It’s not just this case. There is a real problem with DCF. A real deep problem with DCF,” Glenn concluded. “I don’t know what’s wrong. But I beg you to pray.”
Read the entire ruling below:
Editor’s Note: Liberty Counsel’s Mat Staver and Lou and Jennifer Pelletier will be discussing the ruling on Wednesday’s Glenn Beck Program at 5pm ET. Not a subscriber? Start your 14-day free trial of TheBlaze TV HERE.