People of the Year

Heroic Parents

Son’s tragedy inspired Carey family to fight for a whole community

By Caitlin Nitz / Illustration by Steve Ponzo

    Every family within the autistic spectrum faces its share of heartache, hardship and sometimes even tragedy. For Michael and Lisa Carey, it is not the tragedies they have endured that define who they are. It was not the death of their autistic son Jonathan that propelled them into the media or earned them Spectrum’s title of People of the Year. Rather, it is their unwavering dedication to their beliefs that earns them such recognition.

In February of 2007, 13-year-old Jonathan Carey died in the back of his school’s van after an improper restraint. His aids, Edwin Tirado and Nadeem Mall continued running errands for 90 minutes with Jonathan’s lifeless body in the back of the car before returning to the state-run O.D. Heck Development Center.

     Even before Jonathan’s death, his parents Michael and Lisa Carey were working with New York State Assemblyman Harvey Weisenberg to enact change. Jonathan’s Law, which was signed by Governor Eliot Spitzer in May, now grants families of children and adults with mental disabilities greater access to internal treatment records. The Careys were fighting for such legislation after Jonathan was mistreated at the Anderson School in Dutchess County, N.Y., in 2004. His records, which documented continued neglect, were withheld from the family by the state.

     In one year, the Carey family has attended their son’s funeral, helped pass state legislation in his name, started a foundation in his honor and attended the court proceedings of the two men responsible for his death.

     To Michael Smith, the northeast regional director of the Foundation for Autism Information and Research (FAIR) and also a father of an autistic child in the Albany area, the Careys are heroes. “Most parents would have caved under all the heartache and pressure. The Careys channeled this into a mission to stop abuse,” he says. 

At the end of 2007, the Carey family has established itself as one of New York State’s leading advocates for the rights of the developmentally disabled. With the passage of Jonathan’s Law and Edwin Tirado and Nadeem Mall in prison, it would be easy to say their work is finished. It would be tempting for them to move on with their lives, but that is no longer an option. They have closed their family-owned car dealership in Delmar, N.Y., to turn it into the headquarters of the Jonathan Carey Foundation and to become full-time advocates.

     “Lisa and I believe strongly that we are called by the Lord to be a part of rescuing and saving the lives of vulnerable children,” says Michael Carey in an interview in October. For over 10 years, the Careys have been involved in a ministry called Hearts of the Father Outreach, which cares for abandoned, abused and orphaned children in different parts of the world. Lisa and Michael Carey have traveled to Mexico and different parts of Africa to visit orphanages and raise awareness on how churches especially can help kids in need.

Michael and Lisa, throughout their hardships, have relied heavily upon their faith for strength. They were quick to forgive the two men responsible for their child’s death, and visions and dreams of Jonathan in heaven provide them peace. “The media and public observed the grace which the Careys displayed by forgiving the murderers,” comments Pastor Dave Gericke of the Delmar Full Gospel Church where the Careys worship.

In spite of their forgiveness, Michael and Lisa Carey still harbor great emotion and sadness over the death of their son. At times, this emotion has exceeded the comfort zone of some local politicians and the media. At the sentencing of Edwin Tirado in December, the Careys gave what one local news station called a “remarkable” set of victim impact speeches in court. To State Supreme Court Justice Dan Lamont, however, the Careys went “far, far beyond,” what the state deems appropriate.

      The judge refused to allow the family to play a 13-minute video about their son at the sentencing hearing. Along with admonishing Tirado, the Careys went on to criticize his defense lawyer, Brian Donohue. Michael Carey told Tirado, “sound and good legal counsel would have been: do the right thing, acknowledge your guilt, accept your punishment and to apologize to our family for what you have done.”

      Lisa Carey said, “as a mother, I plead with all my heart, that the court sentence Ed Tirado to the maximum term for mercilessly crushing the life out of my son, and for his hideously callous actions after he realized that Jonathan was no longer breathing.” Tirado was indeed sentenced to the maximum penalty of 5 to 15 years for manslaughter.

With the killer of the child behind bars, the Careys are now armed with their son’s records from the Anderson School that they obtained after the passage of Jonathan’s Law.   
     
      The records reveal the systematic refusal of Jonathan’s meals—an illegal behavioral modification tactic they suspected after witnessing their son’s dramatic weight loss and regression. The family is suing the Anderson School for approximately $6 million but also believes that criminal charges must now be brought against those responsible for Jonathan’s mistreatment and the cover-up of his abuse. “Righteousness and change must come forth as a result of what has happened to Jonathan,” believes Michael Carey.

       In this quest for righteousness, the Careys are seemingly unafraid of alienating their supporters with their zeal. This past November, Michael and Lisa began visiting local district attorney’s offices, hoping to bring charges against officials in the Anderson School abuse at the state’s Commission on Quality Care (CQC), which monitors developmental facilities, and the regulatory Office of Mental Retardation and Developmental Disabilities (OMRDD).

      Like the Careys, Michael Smith believes these officials need to be brought to justice. “The New York Commission on Quality Care is required to report cases of abuse to the state police but failed to do so. These people belong in jail cells or at minimum deserve to be fired,” he says.

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