<p>Lost my S in the mall once; walked out of a convenient store and went half a block down the street before I realized he wasn’t beside me another time. Maybe there are a few absolutely vigilant folks out there–I’m being sincere when I say I salute you.</p>
<p>I have nothing but compassion for this man. To say he will forget because he forgot his son that day is nonsense; he may have thought of his son many times that day, and pictured him in daycare as he did so–you can’t possibly compare a lapse like that to a pain I pray none of us ever has to feel.</p>
<p>No, he shouldn’t go to jail. What a waste of a life and of our resources. Perhaps, though, he’d be willing to make some PSAs as reminders to all of us to be vigilant in the face of our fallibility.</p>
<p>I think this is qualitatively different from cases where some reckless action made by the person in question caused the tragedy–like drinking or reckless driving. But I don’t see that here.</p>