Chase Harrison (adopted child)

Chase Harrison
Born(2006-11-01)1 November 2006
Pskov Oblast, Russia
Died8 July 2008(2008-07-08) (aged 1)
Purcellville, Virginia, USA
CitizenshipUSA
Known forDima Yakovlev

Chase Harrison (Russian: Дмитрий Алексеевич Яковлев; November 1, 2006[1][2] – July 8, 2008[3]), better known in Russia as Dima Yakovlev, was a Russian child who died shortly after being adopted by citizens of the United States.

Adoption

Dima Yakovlev was born in 2006 in the Pskov Oblast. His mother had previously been raised in an orphanage. Shortly after his birth, he was placed in the Pskov Regional Children’s Home for children with organic lesions of the central nervous system and mental disorders, located in the town of Pechory.[4] His mother gave written consent for possible adoption. Several unsuccessful attempts were made to place the child with a Russian family. Eventually, an American couple, Miles Harrison and Carol Lynn Eckmann-Harrison, expressed their intention to adopt him and made three trips to Russia for that purpose.[2] Miles Harrison was the executive director of the consulting company Project Solutions Group in Herndon, Virginia. On February 21, 2008, the Pskov Regional Court granted permission for the Harrisons to adopt Dima Yakovlev. After the adoption, he received the surname of his adoptive parents, Harrison, and his given name, Chase.

At the end of 2012, Russian media reported that Dima Yakovlev’s biological grandparents claimed they had attempted to obtain custody of the child during the adoption process but were refused.[5]

On December 25, 2012, the Investigative Committee of the Russian Federation announced that it had initiated a preliminary inquiry into media reports alleging that the child’s relatives were prevented from obtaining custody of Dima Yakovlev.[6]

According to media reports, procedural violations occurred during the adoption process.[5][7][8] Handwriting experts confirmed that the grandmother’s signature on documents renouncing adoption had been forged.[9]

Death

Three months after the adoption, on July 8, 2008, at the age of 21 months, Dima died after being left by Miles Harrison for nine hours inside a locked GMC Yukon on a day when the temperature reached 32 °C (90 °F).[10] Harrison had strapped the boy into the back seat at their home in Purcellville, Virginia, and left the vehicle parked near his office in Herndon (about 40 km from Purcellville), mistakenly believing that he had dropped his son off at a KinderCare daycare center in Ashburn along the way.[11] Meteorologists noted that at 32 °C, the temperature inside a closed car can reach 54 °C (129 °F).[2] During the investigation, Miles Harrison stated that he had intended to take the child to daycare but, rushing to work, forgot to do so.[12]

Investigation

Under U.S. law, Harrison faced up to ten years in prison on charges of involuntary manslaughter,[13][14] but on December 17, 2008, he was fully acquitted by an American court.[11]

Media outlets later reported several similar cases in the United States in which parents who had left their children in car seats on the back seats of vehicles were acquitted, and in some cases no charges were filed at all.[11] Between 1998 and 2014, 629 children in the United States died of heatstroke in closed vehicles.[15] In fewer than half of these cases were legal proceedings initiated, and in less than a quarter did the court’s decision result in imprisonment (as of 2007).[16]

In February 2009, Miles Harrison said in an interview with The Washington Post:[11]

I pray for forgiveness from the Russian people. There are good people in this country who deserve children, and there are children in Russia who need parents. Please don't punish everyone for my mistake.

Reaction in Russia

The American court’s decision in the case of Dima Yakovlev provoked a strong reaction in Russian media and government circles. On December 30, 2008, the Investigative Committee under the Prosecutor’s Office of Russia opened a criminal case to determine the circumstances of the child’s death and to verify the legality of his adoption.[17] The Committee stated: "It has been established that one-and-a-half-year-old Dima Yakovlev died on July 8, 2008, when his adoptive father Miles Harrison left the boy locked in a car for nine hours in 50-degree heat. The child had been adopted in Russia three months before the tragedy".[18]

At the end of 2012, the State Duma of Russia introduced draft law No. 186614-6 (often referred to as the response to the Magnitsky Act), one of the amendments to which prohibited U.S. citizens from adopting Russian children. The ruling party United Russia proposed naming the law in memory of Dima Yakovlev. Deputy Vyacheslav Nikonov suggested dedicating the law to the memory of all Russian children who had died in the United States after being adopted.[19] On December 28, 2012, the law was signed by President Vladimir Putin and came into force on January 1, 2013.[20][21]

Renowned pediatrician and surgeon, and president of the National Medical Chamber of Russia, Leonid Roshal, proposed the installation of a "people’s monument" to Dima Yakovlev in Moscow. According to Roshal, the child who died several years earlier "is saving our orphaned children".[22]

See also

References

  1. ^ 8 июля 2008 г. в результате трагического случая в США погиб ребёнок, усыновлённый в России, пресс-релиз Министерства образования и науки РФ, 14 July 2008. Archived 2012-12-31 at the Wayback Machine
  2. ^ a b c "В США снова погиб приёмный ребёнок из РФ: в убийстве обвиняют его отца, Newsru.com, 11.07.2008". Archived from the original on 2021-06-09. Retrieved 2012-12-21.
  3. ^ Va. Toddler Dies After Father Leaves Him in SUV Archived 2019-11-18 at the Wayback Machine // Washington Post, 10 июля 2008
  4. ^ В псковском Доме ребёнка считают случайностью смерть мальчика, усыновленного парой из США, Newsru.com, 14 July 2008.
  5. ^ a b "Дети оптом и в розницу. Бизнес по продаже сирот иностранцам приносит огромные деньги". Свободная пресса. 2012-12-27. Archived from the original on 2021-06-09. Retrieved 2019-04-03.
  6. ^ В Псковской области начата доследственная проверка по появившейся в СМИ информации о том, что чиновники препятствовали усыновлению Димы Яковлева родными бабушкой и дедушкой Archived 2012-12-29 at the Wayback Machine
  7. ^ "Новые подробности в деле Димы Яковлева". Archived from the original on 2021-06-09. Retrieved 2019-04-03.
  8. ^ "При усыновлении Димы Яковлева было допущено множество нарушений // Вести FM". Archived from the original on 2021-06-09. Retrieved 2019-04-03.
  9. ^ Дарья Ивашкина (2012-12-27). "Графологическая экспертиза доказала: подпись бабушки под отказом от Димы Яковлева подделали". Комсомольская правда (in Russian). kp.ru. Archived from the original on 2012-12-30. Retrieved 2012-12-31.
  10. ^ Ответ на закон о «списке Магнитского» назовут именем Димы Яковлева Archived 2021-06-09 at the Wayback Machine // 11 December 2012, «Российская газета»
  11. ^ a b c d Fatal Distraction: Forgetting a Child in the Backseat of a Car Is a Horrifying Mistake. Is It a Crime? Archived 2013-03-27 at the Wayback Machine, Washington Post, March 8, 2009: «Fairfax County Circuit Court Judge R. Terence Ney found Miles Harrison not guilty. There was no crime, he said».
  12. ^ "Приемного отца умершего ребенка из РФ выпишут на следующей неделе". РИА Новости. ria.ru. 2008-07-12. Archived from the original on 2013-03-15. Retrieved 2013-02-28.
  13. ^ "Why Was Father Who Killed Son In Car Acquitted? — Raw Fisher". Archived from the original on 2013-03-15.
  14. ^ U.S. man acquitted in death of son adopted from Russia Archived 2010-04-13 at the Wayback Machine // RIA Novosti, 17/12/2008: «A guilty verdict would have carried a sentence of up to 10 years in prison.»
  15. ^ Jan Null (2014-08-12). "Heatstroke Deaths of Children in Vehicles". Университет Сан Франциско. Archived from the original on 2014-08-13. Retrieved 2014-08-13.
  16. ^ ALLEN G. BREED (2007-07-28). "Sentences Vary When Kids Die in Hot Cars". Ассошиэйтед Пресс. Archived from the original on 2014-03-01. Retrieved 2014-08-13.
  17. ^ Министерство образования направило в США официальный запрос по делу Димы Яковлева // Первый канал, 30 December 2008
  18. ^ Главным следственным управлением Следственного комитета при прокуратуре Российской Федерации возбуждено уголовное дело по факту гибели в США ребёнка, усыновлённого в России Archived 2013-05-03 at the Wayback Machine // Следственный комитет при прокуратуре Российской Федерации, 30 December 2008
  19. ^ «Единая Россия» накажет США по «закону Димы Яковлева» Archived 2016-12-22 at the Wayback Machine // Lenta.ru, 11 December 2012.
  20. ^ Подписан закон о мерах воздействия на лиц, причастных к нарушениям основополагающих прав и свобод человека, прав и свобод граждан России Archived 2014-09-11 at the Wayback Machine // Kremlin.ru, 28 декабря 2012 года
  21. ^ "Владимир Путин подписал «антимагнитский» закон". Forbes. forbes.ru. 2012-12-28. Archived from the original on 2021-06-09. Retrieved 2012-12-28.
  22. ^ Анастасия Новикова (2012-12-29). "Леонид Рошаль поддержал «закон Димы Яковлева»". Комсомольская правда. kp.ru. Archived from the original on 2021-06-09. Retrieved 2012-12-29.
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