they suffered severe physical, emotional, and psychological abuse at the hands

of their father. It ended the day they shot and killed him. Now Neal and Jesse

are charged, as adults, with first degree murder; they face the possibility of life

in prison. All this because Arkansas Department of Health Services, DHS, did

nothing to step in and save these young lives.

On January 24th, 1998, Rick Eldridge was supposed to take his sons, Neal

and Jesse, to "Buckarama", a deer hunting show at the Little Rock Expo Center.

Before they left that morning, Rick caught the two teens smoking cigarettes. He

told them they could not go to "Buckarama"("Neal & Jesse Eldridge: Child

Abuse Tragedy" 1), then tried to suffocate them. "Neal said his father picked

him up and threw him headfirst into a wall" (Haddigan 1). As he left, Rick told

Neal and Jesse that when he returned "he would beat them to death." He also

gave them an "impossible list of household chores" to do before he returned,

and said that he would kill them if they didn't.

Fearing for their lives, the boys, ages 14 and 15 at the time, decided they

had to protect their mother and sisters,

When the police arrived, Neal and Jesse stepped out of the woods. "Jesse

Marlin rifles. Jesse stood behind the corner of the family's house, and Neal

"Pope County Sheriff's Department criminal investigator in charge of the case."

"wooded area near the house and unloaded their rifles"(Shull 1).

during the day, woke upon hearing the gunfire. She came to the porch, and saw

Some common words found in the essay are:
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Approximate Word count = 1657
Approximate Pages = 7 (250 words per page double spaced)