"The McCanns were negligently culpable, leaving their children as they did"
so that means half the world that use babylistening services are negligent and culpable ?
Yes it does follow. I think that if a baby listening service was used and had allowed this to happen, there is a high chance they would have been seen as legally culpable and sued.
But I take the point you are making. The McCann's carried out a risk assessment.
They didn't do it scientifically of course, but under classic risk assessment theory, you compare the consequences of risk failure with the likelihood of occurrence, rating each from 1 to 5. Undertaking that calculation in this case, I think consequences clearly rated a 5 (catastrophic). But likelihood was probably just a 1 or a 2 (very unlikely or unlikely).
I am sure that lots of parents have in the past and probably still do take the same risk. I think they have to accept culpability if the worst happens. But I also think that, if the worst does happen, they should be treated sympathetically in the absence of any other aggravating circumstances.
