The legal guardian of three Illinois children says they should be raised by their mother despite the 2003 deaths of their older siblings. Carol Casey argued before a Cook County Circuit Court judge that Amanda Ware "should be given another chance" to raise the children. Casey noted the mother has undergone mental health and substance abuse counseling.
Prosecutors disagreed with her assessment, saying Ware and her husband haven't made substantial progress with treatment services and remain unfit, unwilling and unable to care for their children.
Ware, then known as Amanda Hamm, was convicted of child endangerment for watching her boyfriend drown her children in Clinton Lake. He was convicted of first-degree murder.
Now married, the state took custody of Ware's children after a doctor recognized her. Judge DemetriosKottaras says he will rule Friday.
