How is screening employees the responsibility of the teacher's union? As an aide, she probably wasn't in the union. Even if she were, it's up to the school district to perform background checks.

Now, if you want to make the argument that the teacher's union prevents background checks, that would be different. I doubt that they do, however.

She,her mothers and siblings are the most vile creatures that I have ever read about.I wonder what ever became of Sylvia Likens sister, mother and father? It appears that the entire Baniszewski family are sociopaths and should have been executed no matter what their ages were at the time of their crimes.I can only hope that her family will keep her away from the public.She is not too old to be a danger to society.

I read Kecham'sw book. It's fantastic!

She is an aide, not a teacher. She can't join the teacher's union. So quick to blame the teachers for everything wrong with YOU. Maybe you think her teachers should have done a better job back in 1965 rather blame her psycho mother?

Indiana is so proud of their death penalty but they didn't execute the psycho mom? Something is wrong here. There will always be evil among us and it has been since beginning of man kind. Makes you wonder who are your neighbors. Just this weekend a 12 year old girl in NJ murdered by 2 teenage boys/neighbors because they wanted her BMX bike.

This story is horrendous...it brought me to tears to think that a MOTHER could torture a child like this....wow...wow....wow.

People this happened 47 years ago, and I am sure none us can say they are not guilty of something. I do agree that the school district is responsible in keeping the children safe. The human aspect to this is we do not know all the facts, and that there are many people that have changed their lives around and actually make great employees, whether they have been convicted of theft, assault, drugs and yes, even murder. Many schools employ people as speakers who have committed these crimes to talk to the children to help persuade the children to stay on the straight and narrow. People can change, and sometimes do a 180 degree turnaround in the direction they were taking in life. I am not saying to close your eyes, or to not examine the individual. They know that they made mistakes and will be scrutinized for those bad behaviors. I am saying, how long do we punish someone? I ask this especially if the individual has been doing good and it appears as though they have changed. I don't blame the person who called it in, but, I do question their anonymous motives.

How long do we punish someone? Someone who killed my chilld...forever. end of story

I wonder why this does not even suprise me!!!

Unfortunately, this woman was not punished enough. She only served a few years, and even with an escape was released early. Only way to justify this crime is if she felt she had to torture the young lady for her own preservation. Doesn't seem to be the case though. And besides, we are talking about a woman losing her job, not being sent back to prison. There is no statute of limitations on murder for a reason. She may have turned her life around, but the murdered girl has no life to turn around.

Hammer60, ignore Ternan. He's completely incapable of comprehending the story he just read. He totally missed the point. He just wanted to see his nom-de-plum appear on the monitor. Zowie! Looka there, you guys!

You're right about the union. Support staff unions and teachers unions do not hire or run background checks. The school board security office does that. Some offenses, of a lesser severity, are determined to be allowable if they occurred long enough ago. Other offenses will bar your employment no matter how old they are. It's doubtful too many school boards ran background checks in 1998, anyway. We didn't do it until little Jessica Lunsford was murdered in 2005.

Yes Marlene. And like I commented when the news was revealed about Elizabeth Smart of Utah, kidnapped by wierdo's in 2002 and who were finally convicted in May of 2011 or when news of Jacee Lee Duggard, held as a slave and prisoner for 18 years in a trashy tent behind a couple of wierdo's house - how much is hidden? What else is hidden and what will we hear of next?

How did it go from this evil murdering witch to bitching about a union? I can't think of anything to say that is even low enough to describe this evil bitch and her lousy siblings and mother. The role models for low life evil. She may have been stern and not abusive to her own children but what would she be capable of doing to some one ele's? Plain damn evil. Old Fat Guy, her and her family except for the babies should have never been able to see a minutes peace in their entire life.

Paula was one of the ring-leaders she wasn't worried about her own preservation. Her mother was a frail chain-smoker who couldn't have threatened her with much. Paula was the oldest and at the time this happened was pregnant with the child of a married man. She was a bully plain and simple and you can't actually serve time for murder and then expect to ever be trusted around children. She shouldn't ever have been let out of prison. Who cares if she turned her life around? Sylvia never got the chance to have any life at all.

FreedomOfSpeechLess.....and that's really rare for me!

One and only good thing about this story is that the media "outed" her to the whole country. I could give a rats ass she is in her 60's now,she was part of the bag of a-hole's that did those awful things to that little girl,I hope some sick bastard does the same things to her. You do something stupid like DUI,you serve your time and move on,you do unspeakable things to anyone or anything with a heart beat,you should pay for it with your life.

@Voted McCain, I agree to make a mistake or a bad judgment is human, to participate in evil is well evil. the question is was she a participant or another victim, I'm not familiar with the whole case. I'm a good one at throwing down my fist and saying you pay, but I also want the facts before payment is made. is it possible that she too was a victim? I don't know I guess in order for me to judge I'll have to spend time researching it and the facts, the one thing I do understand is when you encounter evil you destroy it, that is all there is to it. liberals have a difficult time understanding that, but its really simple if its bad get rid of it. its no different then disposing of a green/brown mass growing in your frig.

That poor girl! How horrendous to be tortured and die at the hands of people who were supposed to care for her. This world is SO evil!

It's sickening that not only was this person and her mother allowed to be released, they didn't even get the electric chair. They tortured a human being to death, can any one even imagine what that poor girl experienced? They didn't spend hardly any time in jail. They are pure evil, and to allow this woman to carry on with her life is wrong, she should be in prison and not around our children or to make her own kids. That school system should be ashamed, Really ashamed for letting her around children, she had to lie on her application. So she also had to lie on the back ground check to that school system, that's a felony, now do the right thing and put her back in jail and for good this time.

It's amazing. If they had sexually abused this 16 yr old girl and let her live they all would have gotten life. But instead they torture and kill her and they all are out on the streets living their life. They even have people defending them. How can you torture, murder, and escape from prison and only serve 2 yrs?

So much for all those people who long for the Good Old Days...people were just as sick and crazy back then (pick any date in history).

I have somewhat mixed feelings about this. What this woman did when she was a 16-17 year old girl was reprehensible. For that she definitely deserved to be punished. What is not clear is to what extent she was coerced/threatened into doing these things by a very sick and twisted mother. No one commenting here knows what went on in that house or how this woman at 16-17 was being treated by her own mother. It is quite possible that she was in a position of having a choice of doing what her mother told her to do or having it done to her we simply do not know. This woman was initially convicted of second degree murder and, when that conviction was overturned, plead guilty to manslaughter. She also escaped from prison at one point and was recaptured fairly quickly. In all, she served about seven years in prison from 1965 when she was originally arrested until 1972 when she was released. Serving seven years on a manslaughter conviction is not all that unusual particularly for someone who committed the crime as a minor. In fact there are also many adults convicted of manslaughter who end up serving about the same amount of time. While allowing this woman to work around children seems very questionable, and probably should not have happened, there is no evidence that she did anything wrong in any way during that time. An apparently impartial observer who grew up with this woman's kids says she was a good mom and never even physically disciplined her kids. It certainly sounds like this woman was either rehabilitated, or possibly never wanted to do the things she did as a 16-17 year old. By all accounts she has not done a thing that could even remotely be called abuse since her release from prison. I can understand why some people would feel that certain crimes should continue to be punished for the rest of the person's life. That said, you can also say that there needs to be a point where a person has paid their debt and should be allowed to get on with their lives. Possibly because what she did and what she experienced as a 16-17 year old, as a teacher's aide and as an aide to a school counselor, she was able to help children who might have been facing similar problems. It is very easy to simply say that she should never have been allowed out of prison or ever been allowed around kids because of what she had done. However, sometimes people like her who have turned themselves around can do far more to help kids who are in similar situations, suffering the abuse she must have suffered from her mom, because she can relate far better to what they are going through. It is a tough call to make, particularly without knowing the details of what went on in her home when she was growing up and when the abuse of the other girl occurred.

Wow, I just read this story 4 days ago on trutv library. You can do a google search for trutv library. This is a great site with pictures and all. Paula was not a victim from what a few posters have said. She was a ring leader for sure. She would hit, slap, push beat on this poor girl without her mother telling her to do these things. She has an evil heart for sure and I have a hard time buying that her heart has changed.

Someone had asked what happened to Sylvia's mother/father, sister jenny and her other siblins. She was a middle child with twins born before her and after her (both sets of twins were boy/girl). Her father and mother both have passed and her younger brother also has passed. I can't recall if others had passed or not. The TruTv Library gives the whole story, court procedings and follow up to the players. It stated that Paula, her Mother Gretrude and bother John all changed their names. It also tells you what has happened to Jenny, and her other siblings. if I recall, Jenny has founded a Domestic Abuse thingy. Very good story for sure and True on TruTv Library. It also tells you what books were written about this story and what movies were made about this story. I feel she should never be in a school as an aide or anything. Personally I don't think she should be around children for the rest of her life (just like Sex offenders.. for life)

Though so many years have gone by they will all eventually stand trial in front of the ultimate judge and be accountable for their actions. Justice will be served.

So she was sentenced in 1971, escaped from prison and caught, and RELEASED in 1972? WTF! And she helped murder that poor girl to avoid being beaten herself is a load of crap. The mother was a sickly, frail woman and Paula was 17 and overweight. I hardly think she was afraid of her mother, especially considering her mother rarely did any of the physical abuse herself, but had the children do it.

Somebody should have smacked that snarky smirk off her face before they took that mug shot.....and that is the least of my opinion of what should have been done with that entire family.

It would be nice to see more REAL justice in our judicial system....our how about this; make the penalty far worse than the crime. I would be satisfied with that. Somehow, I don't think even justice is enough for the crimes some people commit.

The whole family is sick. It will be a good day when the last of them breathes no more.

Someone convicted of torturing and murdering a child should NEVER be allowed to be employed where their primary job is to be around children. Period.

Too bad the tipster didn't just kidnap and torture this sick person.

The longest sentence served was 7 years? Sounds like Iowa is more liberal than CA and OR. At least there you have to serve 12. If I lived in Iowa and they are this lenient on murderers, I would leave immediately. It seems Iowans think murder is no more serious than spitting on the sedewalk.

I always wonder when I read these posts how many of you are want to be christians, go to church and say you believe in god. But by the way you spew so much hatred for people and are unforgivable towards others, I wonder how you can look yourself in the mirror.

I read stories like this then read the comment section and realize how most people who comment don't like themselves (so they have to put others down, no matter who they are), unhappy with their lives and hate anyone who isn't like them. I am so glad I don't know any of you because you are to judgmental.

This woman wanted to change her life(which she has every right to do), start over and somehow make amends for what she did at 17. I say she has paid her dues and who are we, you to judge her. You don't know her now, and can't assume she is the same person she was at 17. Are you? Would you want to be judge for something you did at 17 and I am sure as the bible says, "Let he/her who is without sin cast the first stone", and "Judge not, least you be judged".

Everyone has an opinion about something and sometimes it is just best not to give your opinion on everything.

I saw the movie, it was unbelievably horrid. This family should have been locked away and lose the key.

I think in the movie, the mother was portrayed as a religious nut who said that girls were sluts.What did that make her?

Yeah RV, who wouldn't want a shot at freedom after killing someone and stuffing feces in their mouth? This sick broad deserves to be executed.

the bible also says "let every person be subject to the governing authorities. For there is no authority except from God." So, you also have to follow the laws of man. Just because someone 'turns their life around', it doesn't mean they are no longer responsible for their actions. It is perfectly fine for someone to turn their life around - I just prefer they stay in prison while they do that.

Tell me about it ! Made me sick too bruh .

Not exactly the Waltons...

LOL @ the union-supporting comments. The union doesn't hire bad people, they only keep them hired after that fact is discovered. How exactly does that make them unaccountable?

The stronger the union, the less likely you can fire a bad teacher. Our education system has gone down the tubes as union influence in the public sector has gone up. FDR abhorred public sector unions having the ability to engage in collective bargaining. He was right.

Sammy Johns, This story has NOTHING to do with teachers or teacher's unions, since the scumbag "woman" wasn't a teacher. She was a teacher's aide and therefore not eligible to be in the union.

Other than that, you have contributed zero to the story of this murdering torturing b!^#h who got away with little punishment for her terrible crimes. Her mug shot from 1971, most likely after she was caught following her escape, tells me all I need to know. She thinks it is all a joke, something is funny to her about the process.

The joke is on the rest of society when sub-humans like her can serve minimal time, change their name and escape the consequences of her conduct. She needs to live the rest of her life in shame...

did you read the article? she plead guilty and served her time. She can't be tried and convicted again, dood. she just shouldn't really be around kids now, dontcha think??

JenJen,She shouldn't be around anybody.She is as insane as can be.

JenJen she murdered a young girl and plead guilty to manslaughter and then escaped and served a total of 1 year on the manslaughter charge - you think she served her time for murder? If you believe she served an adequate sentence for murder then your a very large part of the problem in the United States

Just an thought, Does anyone think that as the daughter of that monster mother, was she acting on her mothers orders (as to avoid the same treatment!)? Also, our justice system is not perfect. But, it's the only one we got. She was tried (twice), convicted, served her time and was released. Ever since she has been a model citiizen. This was a tragic death, but continually punishing her is not going to bring the girl back.

This woman served her time and paid her debt. The legal system seen her fit to be a productive citizen and released her. From what the article states she has been employedby the school system for fourteen years and did not terminate her until they heard of her past. This woman worked hard to rehabilitate herself and I say herself because the penal system don't do it. I truly believe no matter the persons past if they want to rehabilitate and be productive if given a chance they can do it. I am sure some people can't be, but don't they hire psychologist in the systems to help make them decisions. I pray that she is forgiven for her wrongs she committed in the past. yes what she done was horrific, but we can now only look at her for what she is now. 17 and 18 year olds can make some serious mistakes and they have to pay the consequences.

Ternan, Paula served four or five years from 1966 to 1971 and was granted a new trial, at which she pleaded guilty to a lesser charge. All told, she served five or six years. She was released with a credit for the previous time served in 1972 with time tacked on for escaping. For this type of crime committed as a juvenile, that is average. Besides, it's the mother who was the mastermind and the one who was in control of the situation. Gertrude also served her time and is now dead and gone.

WeAllHaveOpinions: She murdered a young girl by torturing and beating her to death. She might have been 17 at the time but the girl is still dead - oops I'm sorry I was only 17 and did not understand the consequences of murder does not excuse what was done and serving a year in prison does not mean she paid her debt to society - your one more liberal moron that is a bigger issue than Paula the murderous is

Heather: so your own daughter is tortured and murdered by being beaten to death. The murderer goes to trial and serves 6 years in prison and is then released - you of course as a fair minded parent accept that this person that murdered your child has served an adequate punishment for the murder of your daughter and by-gones being by-gones all of you go on with your separate life's. sounds like a perfect liberal scenario - HYPOCRIT

Ternan, don't make this political. I'm as liberal as you get and I agree with you, she should have been in prison for life.

The technical side of this is that it was manslaughter, not murder. Although, I believe as most people death is death. The story we hear does sound horrible, but, we were not there. She was 17years old at the time and kids do stupid things, one of the reasons we don't allow alcohol now until 21 years old. I don't condone her behavior at the time 47 years ago, but do feel that people change and can be productive members of society if they learn from their mistakes. It sounded as though she has been working with that school district for 18 years now. This tells me it was before alot of our rules and regulations pertaining to hiring,which are now in place for schools to protect the children. Many schools actually bring in different people to speak, that have commited crimes, that appear to have changed their lives around, to try and keep the kids on the straight and narrow.

excuse me employed for 14 years at school district.

So, according to you, garbageman, taking part in and torturing a girl to death is just a stupid thing kids do. I am curious, what do you consider a horrendous crime???? This person, as well as the rest of her murdering family, should still be rotting in prison.

She was tried and convicted, she appealed, she pleaded guilty to manslaughter, escaped and some damn NIXON CONSERVATIVE judge only gave her one more year. 1965-1972 approximately seven years. Damn CONSERVATIVE judge should have given her a lot more years, but he didn't. Double jeopardy, its over, the only question is should she be working anywhere near a school. One has to wonder if she only had to be stern with her children in public for them to snap into line because they knew what would happen later in private if they didn't, only her children and her know that answer, but it would be pretty much textbook sociopath.

↑ Wow that looks ignorant ↑

It wasn't premeditated murder. 7 years is of imprisonment is long enough punishment for a juvenile.

Paula's children already admitted that she never physically disciplined them. Quit painting her in a different light from reality.

Actually, it was an anonymous man who grew up with Paula's kids that said she was never physically disciplined them. He seems like an unbiased source since he also said he was disgusted by Paula's past.

@Eric, give me a break. Your one of the reasons juveniles feel emboldened to commit more and more heinous crimes. She tortured a girl, humilated her, made her eat her own feces and it's all good cause she never beat her own kids. She never tortured anyone in her own family as well. I've never been sooo digusted by comments until the ones I've read on here today.

The failings of our laws to produce justice allowed this woman to change her name and get on with her life- who's to say she hasn't done something heinous again. Maybe they should recheck into some unsolved murders in Iowa! She can never be trusted- just read about what she did!

funny how the racists are silent on this story. Had this been a black woman she would have been called "monkey,coon", there would have been calls for her to go back to africa or be lynched. Obama's name would have been associated with her evil acts. It goes to show evil is evil regardless of race. So next time you read a story, leave race and politics out of it and just comment on the facts of the story.

egad

Ternon I am far from a liberal. How old are you? You are name calling like a ten year old girl. Yes she served her sentence, year in prison and I am sure she had parole/probation to serve. Now if being a liberal is being someone who can forgive a person for their wrongs I guess I am a proud liberal.

So a 7 year sentence is enough for taking someone's life just because she was technically a minor? ONE YEAR away from legally being an adult? If Sylvia had been your daughter, would that be okay with you? If so, you wouldn't be much of a father.

It makes me embarrassed to be American.

Um, why would you be embarrassed to be an American over this? It has nothing to do with America or it's people. It's just another sicko. There are as sick or sicker people all over the world.

Even if she was only 17, she should have known better than to do this. I knew better than to hurt someone when I was only 4 or 5 yrs. old. If her mother forced her to do this, there was still no reason for her to do so. Had I been in her place, I would have gone to the police. This woman is evil -- or has been very evil to the point I would not trust her.

It's not the sickos that embarrass me. It's our judicial system that does so little, so often, for the most disgusting and heinous acts the sickos commit.

Maybe she not only changed her name, but also her social security number? If she did a background check would of showed nothing. I am sure if you have a criminal record, you can not work for the school system. She may of lied on her application for employment.. Have you ever been arrested? Been a Felon etc. Now that the school knows she has a record, they let her go. Makes sense to me why she would of been let go after 14 yrs or so with the school system.

Bill Stewart....well if you don't see what the big deal is, let's sign her up to be your kids guidance counselor.

You don't get why it's a big deal? Really? So you have no problem with murderers changing their names and working in your child's school? Cool. Where do you kids go to school? I'll send some convicts over to apply.

The big deal is that a convicted child murderer was working with other children. I don't know about you, but I wouldn't want someone with the history she has, to be around my children.

I would agree with you if she had actually served more than a year. A year. Are you serious a year for torturing harassing and murdering somebody? You okay with that? On that note, i think you are also mistaken as to whats going on here. she isn't being charged again...she just lost her job. She was lucky to be free in the first place. And don't tell me about how shes 64...from what I'm gathering here, there has been no growth no learning experience for this girl here...she still attempted to escape after going to jail, and that was with a max sentence of 20 yrs. And look at her mugshot...she would do the same over again to that girl who she loathed so much. Now tell me that she deserves to breathe the same air you do

I lived in Anderson, Indiana when this crime took place. I was a very young teenage girl at the time. It was a terrible crime. Some of the worst things that happened were not in either of the 2 movies. This woman Paula was an awful person. She herself caused much of the torture events that her mother ordered to be performed on Sylvia. Paula enjoyed it, she was pleased with what her lies had created. She and her mother should have never gotten out of prison. To think that this woman worked around children is disgusting (to say the least). Whoever hired her should be fired as well. There is absolutely no excuse for her !!!

Yo Bill I'm sure there are several thousand convicted child pedophiles that have served their sentences that are will to change their name and come work with your children at their school - interested moron?

Yo Bill Stewart , do you have any kids ? If you do , please call her because she is now jobless and can use some money . Your Display picture looks like a pedophile . You are probably proud of what she did , are you not ? This is a big deal ! It is people like you that makes history repeat itself . Can I just ask , how old are you ?

O.k. seriously give her a chance, thats the best you can say. She tourtued /killed someone in cold blood and all you can say is it happened 47 years ago.Thats like saying just put jeffrey dahmer in school because he is a serial and he will just change his name. No matter how many years ago it was she still took a person's life. The sad part is she only served 1 year in prison. Would you want a murder teaching at your kids school?

This woman literally branded this girl as a prostitute, burnt her, beat her, and forced her to publicly masturbate at the age of 16, and then aided in her murder. They never should have taken away her and her mother's life sentence! Torturing an innocent girl for years and eventually killing her, and a drug charge are two totally different things! You apparently served much more time than she did for taking a child's life! The fact that you are defending her is absurd, in my opinion!

Tim, congrats for turning your life around. Sad that people can be so unforgiving. This is why released felons have so much difficulty getting reintegrated. In a way every felon is serving a life sentence for their crimes due to the stigmatization they face for the rest of their lives. This includes felons who were convicted for non-violent crimes such as possession of drugs. The War on Drugs has put thousands of non-violent people into our prisons and wasted billions and billions of $ that could have been used to treat their addictions and improve our education system.

As for this Paula, I'm lost for word for the evil deeds she and her mother committed half a century ago. If she was truly rehabilitated, she deserve to have a job and be a productive citizen instead of living on welfare. I just don't think she should be around children though.

Oops. That last comment was meant for Timothy Chenoweth.

This is to the individuals that are concerned she changed her name of all things. I might of missed it but the only thing I read was that the mother Gertrude changed her name and moved to Iowa. Yes, Paula has a different last name now, could it be that it is her married name? She did have three children. In answer to the unforgiving, I agree that if it was my child, it would be tough to accept and I am truly sorry that the family of the girl has to have their lives disturbed and have to relive the experience again. I can only hope that I never have to experience something like this, but hope that I could eventually forgive never forgetting. I also would want people to think about,that they could be convicted of manslaughter or negligent homicide for an accident depending on circumstances.

garbageman: Please read the Tru TV Library (you can read it online) just do a google search for Sylvia Likens murder and pick the Tru tv Library link. It has a lot that isn't in the movies/books or this article. It does state that Gertrude, Paula and her brother John all changed their names when released from prison due to this crime. It was due to marrige. What this girl did is terrible and it wasn't all from her mother. It almost seems she was a ring leader worse than her mother, but both were ring leaders. It was Paula that made her mother start the beatings by saying she was a prostitute (it was shown in the autopsie that Sylvia had never had sex other than the coke bottle she was forced to insert into herself. Please read this article, it will open your eyes wide.

It wasn't due to marrige... that was a type-o in previous reply

Idiot, the journalism is fine, it's your reading comprehension skills that are lacking. He, as it clearly states in the article, is "a man who grew up with her three sons." And the "her" in that sentence, in case you are confused, is Paula Pace. It always seems to be stupid people who badmouth the education system. Gee, I wonder why.

It tells you right here in this paragraph

Paula, now 64, was released from prison in 1972. She was living in Iowa in the mid-1980s, according to a man who grew up with her three sons. Paula, he said, was also very close with his mother. He asked that NBC News not use his name.

Edited: Oops, JohnSmith'santelopefromSeattle beat me to it.

You are correct. The article is poorly written, and I am an educated individual. It does seem more commonplace to find grammatical errors in speech and in print these days. Just look and listen, and one will notice it as well. So, again, you are certainly correct---It's just a sign of the times, I suppose.

Well said. I guess "women's lib" turns a blind eye to this sort of thing. Morons. They should have given her the chair. She helped kill an innocent, young girl.

how is women's lib responsible for the light sentence? you are making an assumption based on nothing.

I don't think women's lib was around in 1965-1968. We were too busy protesting against the Vietnam War.

I have to agree, if this had been a man he would still be in prison. She was a minor and her Mother was the ring leader, but she did what Momma said to do. SO she is guilty. She served her time. This was before registered sex offenders. So should we take the time to go back and register everyone who commited a violent crime or a sex crime prior to registering them ?

Thomas Weeks, You are missing the point. Women want equal treatment in the workplace, in the practice of medicine and in all aspects of life. He is sarcastically suggesting that they missed demanding to be held to equal punishment in the judicial system...

Indiana is a proud conservative state with the death penalty that they didn't use against this sick family.

You posted your comments as I was adding mine. Yes, according to background checks emplyed now, her fingerprints would immediately alert the FBI along with state officials. It is a nation-wide background check, including the state in which you are applying for a job. It is very thorough. One of our teachers was forced to lose 3 months of salary when her fingerprints didn't come back in time. It was her responsibility to get it done and she waited until the school year had actually started. She never would have made it through the front door of any school in this era of added vigilance.

Fingerprint matching is a difficult, expensive, and time-consuming process. Imagine trying to match her prints to a database of millions of other prints. Now imagine several databases of prints (at least one for each state, plus military, FBI, prison systems, etc.) They try to collaborate, but it's still an imperfect system. Not quite CSI, yet.

@ GatorChE

I don't care how long it takes or how much it cost. If your going to be around children these checks are quite neccessary, don't you agree?? Wake up people, we live in a world that has evil evil people in it. We must protect our children at all cost.

Read the article again. "She changed her name." It did not say it wasen't changed legally!

22cents:

I totally agree. Agreeing doesn't change facts. I wasn't suggesting that we not perform the most thorough background check possible. Absolutely send in those fingerprints. We might get lucky and filter out a few of these people before damage can be done. Just understand the reality of the world you live in.

Her fingerprints would be on a piece of paper from some police department/prison in Indiana, which was probably converted to microfiche at some point in the 70s. Then scanned into a computer database somewhere in the mid-80s. Then converted to another type of database in the 90s and then converted again for the year 2000 debacle. At some point after 9-11, Homeland security probably consolidated it into the FBI database. I don't like the odds of a school district's fingerprint check coming up with a hit.

Not that we shouldn't do it. I'm just sayin...

Most work place background check only goes back 5 or 7 years. It costs the employers too much money to do a life-time check. Besides, most job applications clearly states convicted felons does not translate into automatic disqualification. Computer aided interstate back ground check only goes back 10-15 years at most because most older files are archived. Many states don't even have the money to scan older documents.

Even if they had taken her fingerprints in 1971, they are not likely to be in a modern computer database. The money is not available to go back and scan all of the old records. Assuming a background check was even done for a non-teaching position, she had changed her name. Things were working against her being found.

Her Social Security number would have given her criminal history. That number will stay with you even if you change your name. Maybe she was just over looked because she was a aide. I know there is a lot of finger pointing at her but her life must have been messed up as a young child. She needs to stay away from children I agree but look at the influence she had. This whole story is just messed up.

Right....and Casey Anthony's innocent too.

Casey Anthony is innocent according to the jury. We may not agree with the verdict but what can you do? Take her down yourself or lynch her?

If you read the entire account, she was the instigator of much of the torture and abuse, particularly when the mother was absent. Sociopathic behavior can manifest itself even in childhood and certainly by a teenager. Sociopaths cannot be rehabilitated--ever. They can be monitored and controlled, but they never change their fundamental thought processes. The fact that she no longer had the symbiotic relationship with her mother and siblings that made the abuse easy to inflict and she was able to live under the radar does not in any way mean she had changed in any meaningful way. Under no circumstances should she be allowed access to children. And your points are ludicrous. She accepted a plea bargain in the re-trial, served her time, and the Indiana penal system had no choice but to release her. How long do we "punish" someone? For the systematic, drawn out, horrific torture murder of a child? You tell us, sport. As for your statement about crimes being "thrown out" after ten years, a citation is very badly needed. Prior acts CAN be used indefinitely if they prove a pattern of behavior. There is no "ten and out" rule in the law. Know the law before you quote it.

I agree as long as the lady had not caused any trouble at her job than she should have been left alone. Just because someone made a mistake in there past doesn't mean you get to deny them the oppurtunity to earn a living in society. With so many people going in and out of corrections all the time in this country you are going to end up with a large percentage of the country disenfranchised over past mistakes you simply can't do this to people and think there will be no consequences.

wrong blue, maybe she was released bc of overcrowding... after five or so yrs anyway, is it punishment anymore, it is a life behind bars, n murderers are not at the bottom of the hierarchy... she should have served longer n at hard labor, maybe the chinese have the right idea

i would rather be alone w/ a pitbull than this btch

ag!! well said, i agree

Your blind trust in the court system reeks of nativity. The punishment for a crime like this is only complete until they're dead.

Some crimes against society are more serious than others. Murder has no statute of limitations, for example, but other crimes do. People who commit heinous acts against children lose the right to work with children forever. Are you comfortable with such a person in the care of your children? Most of society feels otherwise.

This woman purposely changed her name and failed to inform her employer of her prior convictions. She deserves to be fired on that basis alone. Her employer had no chance to determine if she was reformed and worthy of a second chance, since she LIED about her history.

Yeah, Texas imposes the death-penalty for jaywalking. It's funny, you know, California would not execute Adloph Hitler. But Texas wants to execute anyone they can get their hands on, especially innocent people wrongly convicted by their system. Gack!

PAJ--when you lack facts, engage in dimwitted hyperbole. Engage your brain next time before you "comment". Better yet, move to Texas....and jaywalk. We'd love to have you drop by.

Texas was actually one of the coolest places I have ever been as far as the police are concerned. I had a drag race with a houston constable in his patrol car one night. I was riding along next to another one in his patrol car and he was drinking a 16oz. Bud tall boy. He waved and rolled on like everything was cool. As long as you dont hurt somebody they didn't really care what you did.

Must have been a model prisoner. (sarc) Given her age when the murder was committed, she may have been sentenced to juvenile facility.

What about the other Banizewskewlooski children? I'm assuming that they all changed their names, but any children who willingly take part in this kind of torture must have been warped to some extent. I'm no psychologist, but I wonder if any effort has been made to follow up on them to see what horrors they may have committed?

I rather have more Blue N Gold in this world than the Banizewskis who apparently multiplied like rabbits.