May 08, 2008 10:13 pm
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Emma France is California-bound — finally.
On Wednesday, Jasper County Circuit Court Judge David Mouton set aside orders that had made the 95-year-old Carthage woman a ward of Jasper County Public Administrator Rita Hunter.
We say, it’s about time.
Not only did the system rob France of valuable time and peace of mind, it also incarcerated her 67-year-old daughter, Delores Forste, on charges of kidnapping her own mother.
The family members’ lives have been disrupted for a year, ever since Hunter was named France’s guardian last May. Not only has the family paid, but taxpayers have spent money on court proceedings in which the public administrator defended her actions. Taxpayers also paid to extradite Forste, who rode from San Bernardino, Calif., to the Jasper County Jail, shackled between two male prisoners, to face kidnapping charges.
After all that, prosecution was deferred on Forste’s kidnapping charge, and orders making France a county ward were set aside without any court testimony on Wednesday from Hunter or France.
At France’s age, every day is precious.
That she had to spend this time in her later years giving over control to a stranger, when family was available and accessible, clearly points out a problem in the system.
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