Boston Blotter Burning

A man set a woman on fire in Springfield. The AP reports, "A man doused a woman with flammable liquid then set her ablaze, burning her over 90 percent of her body and injuring himself after the two had an argument, authorities said Monday." The woman had taken out a restraining order against the man. She's in critical condition. All he got was burns on his hands.

An even bleaker story unfolded last night in Dorchester, where a man set himself and the baby he had with his estranged wife on fire. An officer said the baby might not live.

This trend needs to be stopped. The pieces don't mention that these are clear-cut cases of domestic abuse and a sign that perhaps something more needs to be done to prevent these incidents from happening again. The Phoenix wrote a piece about rising domestic violence in this area, and we don't need to be starting the new year this way.

Poster of The Burning Bed from Amazon.