Pope v. State

Facts: Pope was letting Melissa Norris and her three young children stay for a weekend. The Norris family had nowhere else to stay. Pope fed and helped care for them. Melissa went into a frenzy, claiming to be God and that the devil was in the body of her infant. In her delirium, Melissa tore and scratched at her infant daughter. Pope did nothing to prevent the injury form occurring, nor did she seek medical help for the baby. The infant died later that night.

Issue: Did Pope have "responsibility for the supervision" of the children to find her guilty of child abuse?

Holding: No, she didn't have supervision of the children.

Reasons: Even though morally, she should have tried to protect and help the baby, she wasn't legally obligated to do so.