Before We Were Yours

I am about 90% of the way through the novel Before We Were Yours by Lisa Wingate.  Although the story is fictional,  it tells the all too real story of several victims of the Tennessee Children Home Society run by Geogia Tann which, under the guise of an adoption agency, operated a human trafficking ring where children were stolen, abused and sold off often without either the biological or adoptive parents knowledge. Many children died and some more than likely murdered in cold blood.

Tann got away with her crimes from the 1920's until 1950. She died before she was brought to justice. During much of time she operated she was a well known and respected member of society. Eleanor Roosevelt even praised her for her work. If she only knew.

How was Tann able to operate her criminal and repugnant racket for so long? Corruption. She paid off many people in law enforcement and the judiciary to turn a blind eye to her activities.

Sound familiar? Nelly Wince and others who operate criminally in the family law today are the modern day Geogia Tanns. They use and often abuse children to achieve money and power.  Friends in the system are able to not only protect them but even reward their criminal activities.

We have not eliminated bad people from society - they just migrate to areas where they can best succeed. Today the easiest, safest and most lucrative place to commit crime is in family court.