A Cascade County jury has acquitted a South Dakota man of charges he kidnapped his mother from an assisted living facility in Montana.
James Wainscoat was arrested last August in California after he took his 93-year-old mother from Renaissance Senior Care in Great Falls. Prosecutors argued the woman was kidnapped because he could not legally make decisions for his mother, who had been diagnosed with Alzheimer's disease.
Wainscoat told the Great Falls Tribune he was acting on his mother's wishes and wasn't aware of the legal guardianship or Alzheimer's diagnosis until later.
Wainscoat's mother, Troy Wainscoat, now lives with one of her daughters in California.
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SD Man Acquitted of Kidnapping Mother
3 comments:
How many people wish they were brave enough to "kidnap" their loved ones from facilities?
After a wonderful visit with my mom and family members in California, my daughter Ishayah (Co defendant) and I have returned home to South Dakota.
Looking back on the whole ordeal, I want to say to the citizens of Montana that they not only have one of the most beautiful states in the union; but are populated with some of the most genuinely honest, objective and forthright individuals who sacrificially fulfill their civic duty as jurors when called upon.
To be accused of crimes you know are founded on false statements to justify probable cause, followed by the incompetence of investigative officers, the rush to judgement by an over zealous prosecutor, rallied on by incompetent agencies that were put in place to protect the elderly; namely APS, Ombudsman and law enforcement; not to mention doctors, long term care administrators, lawyers and others that make determinations based on the need to keep past mistakes out of view of the general public, and perpetuate the status-quo; is an over whelming gauntlet to face. But due process is still alive in Montana, and it's people the salt of the earth and the spirit of those who founded this great state, and yet today live in the hearts of all Montanan's who carry on those traditions that make people proud to say they are Montanans.
When asked who I wanted to be on the jury if I had a choice; I said take the first twelve potential jurors. Miss Brown my public defender said we will get a jury that reflects Montana, and we did. A young man of 20 who works at McDonald's, a young mother with three children, then men and women representing all age groups up to and excluding grandparents, and finally a native American woman who became the Forewoman of the Jury. What a microcosm of Montana, what a Jury to speak for Montana. The right to face your accusers, to have representation of council, with para legals and investigators when you are indigent, and finally to be tried by your peers. Due process can be a scary and unsettling process; but as was said at the dedication of the Montana Eighth Judicial District Court of Cascade County. "No person need fear entering the judicial processes conducted in this building, so long as the spirit that founded this great state; lives in the hearts of it's people." Thank you Montana. James Paul Wainscoat, innocent and FREED BY THE PEOPLE OF MONTANA
We applaud you, Mr. Wainscoat!
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