No system is flawless. It’s ignorant to believe that a perfect world exists. But it is just plain stupid to ignore red flag after red flag when it comes to saving someone’s life — especially when they are children.
In the case of Josh Powell, the red flags were lined up one after another.
Powell, the sole person of interest in the disappearance of his wife Susan Cox in 2009, killed not only himself but also his two young sons Sunday in an explosion that is believed by officials to have been intentional. Powell recently lost a custody battle of the two boys, ages 7 and 5, to the parents of his missing wife that allowed for restricted, monitored visits. Police said the boys were dropped off by a caseworker, and as they approached his residence in Graham, Wash., he pulled the children inside and locked the caseworker out.
Within minutes the house exploded and two innocent lives were lost. The death of these two children is one person’s fault — their father. Police said they found two 10-gallon tanks of gas inside the house and three bodies next to one of the tanks. An email was reportedly sent to Powell’s attorney minutes before the explosion that said, “I’m sorry, goodbye.”
Situations like this do not just happen unexpectedly. There are signs. Whether we want to admit it or whether it follows the sterile governmental approach to threats, there is a way to predict these types of incidents, and with predictions comes the ability to prevent them from occurring.
Powell denied his involvement with his wife’s disappearance for two years and was never charged with any crimes, yet police strongly believed he was responsible and still do. Cox’s parents did not trust Powell. They held him responsible for the disappearance of their daughter and told reporters they were happy with the results of the custody hearing.
Powell reportedly gave his children’s toys to Goodwill days before the explosion, and he was said to appear calmer than normal during the week prior to the incident.
One of the boys had recently begun to remember the night their mother disappeared and drew a picture with his dad and brother in the car, and told people “mommy was in the trunk.”
Did the courts follow standard protocol in this situation? From what is known about the case at this point, the answer is clearly yes.
But at what point should we allow the natural instinct to protect our children to be a factor in our judgment?
Previous visits were said to have given no alarm or reason to suspect that Powell would do anything like this, but previous visits should not have been the only factors considered. A series of smaller indicators occurred during the last two years, starting with the day Susan Cox went missing and ending with one of her sons saying she was in the trunk of the car the night she disappeared.
Maybe if our society would trust its instincts and acted with common sense when we see a red flag flying, we could save lives and prevent tragedies — and our country wouldn’t be mourning two little boys who were killed by their father.
— ER