Richard and Mayumi Heene: Jail and Deportation?

Richard and Mayumi Heene are back in the news, this time pleading guilty in court. According to The Associated Press, Heene plead guilty to "knowingly and falsely influencing Larimer County Sheriff Jim Alderden, a felony". Mayumi plead guilty to "one misdemeanor count of false reporting to authorities". According to the Associated press, the pleas were an attempt to get leniency for Mayumi so she would not be deported to Japan. She is a Japanese citizen and apparently as such if the commits a crime here in the US she can be deported.

We all share disgust with Richard Heene for dragging the entire country into his trickery, causing us all dread and fear for a young child, and for forcing his young children to carry out the charade. Well if that wasn't enough, we now hear that he risked his wife's possible deportation to Japan,possibly forcing his children to live without their mother. It seems Richard Heene cares nothing for anyone but himself and will use anyone, even his own wife and children for his own gain. Mayumi Heene was certainly a part of this scheme but from what we now know of Richard Heene it's questionable if Mayumi had the self esteem or strength of will to confront her husband. At the very least she was living with a megalomaniac and no doubt his strong personalty swept her away into his schemes.

According to the Associated Press, Richard Heene must pay for the expense he cause authorities who searched for his son and may spend some time in jail. I personally would like him to spend some time in jail, maybe a few months or a year, and then to be monitored by children and family services. This man needs to learn a lesson, he needs to learn to be accountable for his actions. I hope that he is also forced to get counseling, and that his family gets apparently much needed therapy. For the family's sake I hope the judge in this case will recognize that the children need their mother and will not order her deported.

For the children's sake hopefully the balloon boy drama will end and they can move forward to a normal life. With Richard Heene in jail, they might actually have a chance to learn to live like a normal family, not running after storms or obsessing about Aliens. If Mayumi gets help and learns to be a confident mother things may work out OK.