The Last Appeal - Podcast Rankings and reviews

Loved this entire series. It was beautifully written and I enjoyed Lester’s conversations with all interviewee’s.

This is truly amazing & astonishing! I think it would be even more amazing to update us, as listeners, as to how we can proactively help in the fight towards justice. For example, by signing a petition, calling the DA’s office, calling the governors office…etc. It is appalling how our criminal justice system repeatedly locks in a case and throws away the key, with no regard for the possibility of innocence.

I have been a long time viewer of dateline, and just as equally a longtime listener of all dateline podcasts. I began listening to this podcast this week, the first two episodes that are out as of the writing of this review.

At first glance, I can absolutely see why people might believe that little Nikki‘s father is the one who had been alleged to have caused harm to his daughter, alleged harm which would ultimately result in the child’s death. That said, something keeps nagging at me. I know that there have been cases in the past, two of which were specifically covered in the podcast “Do No Harm” with Mike Hixenbaugh, where abuse/neglect was alleged against the parents of children who later were found to have not abused or neglected their children in any manner, and the children’s injuries were simply the result of accidents that could have happened to any parent. These cases presented with injuries to the children’s heads just as the injuries had to little Nikki in 2002.

Back in 2002 CAPs (child abuse pediatricians) didn’t exist from what I understanf. The two cases I am referring to featured in the podcast I referenced above were also in the state of Texas. Isn’t it very possible this little girl’s death is the result of not only the infection /infectionsher body was reportedly fighting in conjunction with the doses of Fentergan and Coding she was prescribed?

Isn’t it also possible that the hospital staff, the department of child protective services, and local authorities all jumped to the wrong conclusions without themselves doing a thorough enough investigation? In the podcast, I referenced above, the two families, the Bright family, and the Butler family, both of the state of Texas, also endured accusations from hospital staff, child protective services, and the authorities concerning alleged abuse and neglect of their children.

In the case of the Butler family, their ordeal lasted entirely 19 months in total from the date of July 4, 2017, to the conclusion in February 2019. In this case, as in the case of Robert Roberson, Lance Butler was ultimately charged with felony child abuse of his four month old son, charges that were later dropped once it was established that child protective had acted negligently, not the words used, but an accurate depiction nevertheless.

The Bright families ordeal began on July 18, 2018, and lasted until October 2018. In this particular instance, the mother Mallissa Bright was essentially accused, but never formally charged with neglect or abuse of her five month old son.

In both instances, CPS was found to have acted not in the best interest of these two families, and it seems as though this case of little Nikki in 2002 is no different. As it has now come out that Nikki‘s father apparently has autism spectrum disorder, it certainly does speak to his off behavior when questioned by police and hospital staff.

The only difference I see between this case in 2002 and the cases of both the Butler family and the Bright family in 2017 through 2019 is that back in 2002 there were no child abuse pediatric teams, where there were such teams in 2017 and 2018 respectively.

I realize the podcast is not yet finished, I’m sure my questions hopefully will be answered at its conclusion. The death of a child is always horrific! It’s heartbreaking and unimaginable, especially for those who have never lived through it personally.