Outrage is a word not often used, due to the impact of its strong definition: To arouse fierce, anger, shock or indignation. Upon reading and watching the horrific account of what happened to a young boy, Khalil Wimes, one will start to see why this is the word associated with this tragic story. If you haven’t heard about this case, keep reading; maybe this insight will help shed some light on little Khalil’s story.
Khalil Wimes was taken away from his biological parents within weeks of being born and was placed with a foster family, where he flourished as a happy, little boy. In 2009, after bidding for his adoption, his foster family lost custody to him and he was returned to his abusive and neglectful home with his biological parents in Philadelphia. A child with seven other siblings, Khalil was not the only abused victim in the household. All seven of the children had previously been removed from the household due to allegations of sexual abuse and neglect, and then returned with no clear reason as to why. In what world do we live in where a child is in a perfectly good, progressive environment and then lawfully placed back into a violent, negative environment?
Although child protective services did not have an open case for Khalil, they certainly did for two of the other children, in which the social workervisited the home on several occasions, somehow missing the signs of malnourishment, torturing, and regular beatings. Khalil was locked in his bedroom with no furniture besides a soiled, plastic mattress. He also had a health problem where he would vomit daily, sometimes multiple times per day, in which his parents would beat him after, saying he was trying to do it. They also confessed that they beat him with books and cords on a regular basis. He never attended school and the claim that he was being homeschooled was never supported with any evidence.
On March 19th, Tina Cuffie and Floyd Wimes, the biological parents of Khalil, brought him into a Philadelphia hospital where he was pronounced dead upon entry. The six-year old boy showed signs of abuse; he was severely beaten and tortured throughout his short life. The medical examiner took an entire hour to log all of Khalil’s scars on his miniature body; he was a six-year old who weighed only 29lbs. (avg. weight is 46lbs.), 7lbs. lighter than when he was three-years old (under his foster family’s control).
Upon arrival to the hospital, he was pronounced dead and the police were brought in to arrest his parents. A medical examiner looked over his badly beaten body and testified that he had bruises literally on each segment of his body and hemorrhaging.As for how Khalil was killed, according to his mother’s confession, he was preparing to take a bath and she got angry at him so she hit him in the back of the head, in which is fragile body fell to the ground. After realizing that he was unconscious, his parents did the opposite of what loving, ethical and moral people would do: the mother went to Popeye’s and the father made himself a steak and played video games. It took a ridiculous 13 hours before they decided to take Khalil to the hospital; his cold body, already deceased.
I’m not sure what to say, or write, when I read about these surprising and horrible stories that surface in our country and world. I am not placing blame on anyone but the parents because I do not know all of the details and circumstances of the case. However, I do know this: Social workers are placed in homes where there may be a danger for the safety of a child. They are required by law to: assess the safety of the child for present or impending danger. If the child is to return home to their biological parents, certain conditions must be made: Children are returned when no safety threats exist or an in-home safety plan can be implemented and sustained. Also, there is indication that the parents are moving towards change to control and manage child safety. That was not fulfilled in Khalil’s case. That is why you need to be passionate about what job you are doing and the career path you choose. If it involves someone’s safety, protection, and even their life in this case, then you must be passionate and take no shortcuts when it comes to investigating a home. At this point, Khalil’s parents are standing trial and the case worker has been removed from active case work until further investigation.
I am aware of all of the debates regarding Child Protective Services and how in some cases, families being investigated think they go too far or are unjustified in their actions. As I stated above, I am in no position to make a decision on how I personally feel about the debate. But I do know that Khalil was improperly placed back with his biological parents, which in the end, led to his death at only six years of age. In this particular case, I am comfortable in saying that social work failed.
Links where I found my content:
http://www.lipstickalley.com/f50/too-many-scars-count-death-6-year-old-khalil-wimes-393016/
http://www.disabled-world.com/artman/publish/height-weight-teens.shtml
http://www.metro.us/philadelphia/local/article/1141397--parents-held-in-beating-death-of-khalil-wimes
http://articles.philly.com/2012-04-24/news/31393170_1_dhs-social-workers-parents
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