Children are a ball of unformed clay. They are a piece of rock before it's sculptured. Children are the unblemished hope of what our future can become. A parent's responsibility to that child is impossible to fathom. A child whose very life lies in the hands of his parents is incapable of expressing the love he feels for them, the fear he experiences without them or the appreciation and joy he gets when his parents care for him. As God is to the faithful, mother is to a child.

Children know nothing of cruelty unless it's taught to them. The unimaginable bewilderment and crushing despair a child must feel when a parent abuses him is beyond an adult's understanding. Our life-hardened years have prepared us for misery - children know nothing of agony.

Which is why it is so heartbreaking when pain and suffering are introduced to them by the person they love and trust the most in the world.

Take this incredibly depressing story from the LA Times...

A Pasadena mother and her boyfriend were charged today with torturing and murdering her 2-year-old boy, who was found dead at home, police said.

Maria Pelaez, 29, and Gabriel Diaz, 32, allegedly taped the child's feet, legs and arms Monday night, according to the Pasadena Police Department. The mother called 911 early the next morning, saying her boy was not breathing.

The child, Rene Torres, was pronounced dead at the home in the 500 block of North Summit Avenue. He had died of asphyxiation before rescuers arrived about 6 a.m. Tuesday, Pasadena police said.

During interviews, the couple allegedly told detectives that they had repeatedly taped Rene, including his mouth, during the past several months to discipline him, police said in a news release.

You can read more at Pasadena Star News including audio of the 911 call.