ALBANY — Charges against a Watervliet couple whose 9-year-old daughter died last month have been dropped after Albany County District Attorney Lee Kindlon said his office would not punish someone for being poor.
The 37-year-old woman and 33-year-old man were charged Aug. 4 with endangering the welfare of a child after their daughter died two days earlier, launching an investigation by State Police into the living conditions at their Second Avenue home. An autopsy found she had died of natural causes after suffering from chronic constipation.
“We made the hard decision and did the right thing. We decided not to criminalize poverty and punish grieving parents,” Kindlon said in a statement. “We adjourned the case in contemplation of dismissal and worked with their attorneys and county agencies to get the pair set up with as many social services as they needed to get them through their tough time.”…