Ariana Swinson will not be forgoten
December 11, 2004
Two-year-old Ariana Swinson helped me grow up more, even at the age of 58. Her life was taken because of demons inside her parents. Her murder happened in my boss' legislative district and he looked for reasons and wasn't satisfied with what he was given.
The system failed her, her parents failed her and we failed her. We went on to learn in our legislative activities that legions of kids are abused and neglected and many are murdered. Maybe what happened Thursday in the Michigan Legislature with the passage of HB 4096 will give other kids a better chance. I hope so. It's an area that deserves ongoing attention.
Rep. Lauren Hager never gave up on this. Now there needs to be others in and out of the State Legislature who will do the same.