The plight of Reina and River should not be allowed to happen again. Their tragedy should be a teachable moment for all of us – that a jailed mother should not be denied to visit her terminally sick child.

A Person Deprived of Liberty should be allowed to comfort a loved one about to be deprived of Life.

Because if we allow the cruel separation of mother and child, then we forfeit our credentials as a Christian nation.

I hope that the DOJ – which is headed by a decent and upright professional – will be advocates of granting humanitarian furloughs to detainees whose innocence or guilt has yet to be determined.

We have read many instances when VIPs – Very Important Prisoners – were granted passes to attend weddings, see a doctor, or attend the school graduation of a kin, which, in the scale of compassion, are rungs lower than a mother’s plea to see her child one last time.

Our justice system is in need of reforms, and our prisons resources. But this case does not require a law or a big appropriation, just compassion.(###)