Neal and Jesse Eldridge are two young men on trial. For over ten years,
they suffered severe physical, emotional, and psychological abuse at the hands
of their father. It ended the day they shot and killed him. Now Neal and Jesse
are charged, as adults, with first degree murder; they face the possibility of life
in prison. All this because Arkansas Department of Health Services, DHS, did
nothing to step in and save these young lives.
On January 24th, 1998, Rick Eldridge was supposed to take his sons, Neal
and Jesse, to "Buckarama", a deer hunting show at the Little Rock Expo Center.
Before they left that morning, Rick caught the two teens smoking cigarettes. He
told them they could not go to "Buckarama"("Neal & Jesse Eldridge: Child
Abuse Tragedy" 1), then tried to suffocate them. "Neal said his father picked
him up and threw him head first into a wall" (Haddigan 1). As he left, Rick told
Neal and Jesse that when he returned "he would beat them to death." He also
gave them an "impossible list of household chores" to do before he returned,
and said that he would kill them if they didn't.
Fearing for their lives, the boys, ages 14 and 15 at the time, decided they
had to protect their mother and sisters, as well as themselves, from the monster
they called Dad. So the brothers loaded their .22-caliber, semi-automatic,
Marlin rifles. Jesse stood behind the corner of the family's house, and Neal
stood atop a "shed next to the house." When Rick got out of his truck, the boys
began to fire. Jesse shot once, but he lost his nerve and lowered his aim to his
father's legs("Neal & Jesse Eldridge: Child Abuse Tragedy" 1). Neal shot four
more times aiming for Rick's head and neck. They then retreated into the
"wooded area near the house and unloaded their rifles"(Shull 1). ...