Push ‘Talia’s Law’ and help save a young child’s life

The brutal torture that 5-year-old Talia Williams was forced to endure in her young life is enough to sicken any decent person; the almost-daily punches, whippings or stompings over seven months finally killed her on July 16, 2005. The fact that it came at the hands of her own father and stepmother is beyond heinous; they are now in prison, he for life. That many in their Schofield Barracks community saw signs of Talia’s torture but failed to help her is unforgivable. That system must be called to account and improved.

Hawaii’s congressional delegation and their colleagues are urged to push legislation — "Talia’s Law" — to require "mandatory reporters" on all U.S. military bases to report immediately any suspicions of abuse to the relevant state’s child welfare agency.

Talia’s case made it alarmingly clear that the military failed her with a mind-boggling laxity when it came to reporting and intervention. Time after time, red flags that could have — should have — spurred help were ignored or dropped. Talia’s autopsy report stated that she suffered "battered child syndrome."

It was this glaring lack of response and help for Talia that resulted in a $2 million settlement last month by the U.S. government with Talia’s mother, Tarshia Williams, for negligence and wrongful death.

Despite a policy that the military contact the state Child Welfare Services (CWS) about suspect injuries involving children, Williams’ lawsuit charged, federal employees failed to respond appropriately or report Talia’s abuse to CWS.

People who should have reported suspicions directly to CWS notified only military supervisors, said Mark Davis, attorney for Tarshia Williams, who lives on the mainland and is urging Talia’s Law.

Talia was living in Hawaii with her father, then-Schofield soldier Naeem Williams, and her stepmother, Delilah Williams. A federal court found him guilty of two counts of capital murder in Hawaii’s first death-penalty trial since statehood; he was sentenced to life. Delilah Williams is serving 20 years for Talia’s murder.

Typically, the Army handles complaints or suspicions of child mistreatment via its military police or the Army Family Advocacy Program. But court documents showed that even an Army major general noted in an investigation into Talia’s death of "a series of missed opportunities to potentially prevent the death of the child."

Among them:

» Military police, responding to a report of a child screaming, found Talia naked in a locked room with feces on the floor, with marks and scratches on her body — but failed to notify Hawaii’s child welfare services.

» Federal child-care center workers noted worrisome marks on Talia’s body and called military police — but Honolulu police were sent away, and no report was made to state CWS or was entered into Family Advocacy Program records.

The military system is stressed and preoccupied with combat missions, mindsets and adult dysfunctions. It’s also a system more used to closing ranks and protecting its own culture, than dealing with child abusers.

"There were many, many missed opportunities," noted Susan Chandler, former head of Hawaii’s child welfare agency, who was an expert witness against Naeem Williams.

The military, she added, lacks the kind of child abuse expertise and foster care support that CWS deals with daily.

At the very least, the push for Talia’s Law puts needed attention on improving military protocol that fatally failed a helpless child. At the very best, such a new law would make "mandatory report-ers" on bases alert to the best interests of the child as a top priority.

Talia Williams suffered horribly, time after time, at the hands of depraved parents enabled by laxness within the current military system. That system needs to change.