Leave poor Walter Sylvia Jr. alone.

Los Angeles County prosecutors are making absolutely sure Sylvia will suffer for the rest of his life. Aside from mourning the death of his 6-year-old son in a car wreck, Sylvia was charged with manslaughter this week for failing to keep the boy safety-belted in his car seat.

Every parent should shudder at this news. The unprecedented action comes dangerously close to regulating what “good” parents do and blaming them for what used to be considered an accident.

Sylvia will enter his plea today in Los Angeles Municipal Court, 10 weeks after his son, Michael, died.

The 49-year-old father certainly doesn’t sound irresponsible—he says Michael always wore his seatbelt as California law mandates. But for a few brief seconds on that August morning drive to school, Michael unfastened his seatbelt.

As Sylvia tells it, his son unfastened the belt to get a pillow from the back seat. At the same time, another car tried to pass on the winding road, causing Sylvia to lose control of the car. Michael was thrown from the car when it flipped.

Anyone who’s been around children knows how quick and impetuous they can be. They can dart off into traffic in a flash or hurt themselves while a parent’s back is turned. Yet, Sylvia is held accountable for those moments when Michael took off the seatbelt.

Police said Sylvia might have been speeding before the accident—or perhaps “accident” isn’t the right word, since prosecutors feel he is responsible for his son’s death.

If this is the prosecutors’ way of making a point about seatbelt safety, it’s certainly a little extreme. If convicted, Sylvia faces a one-year jail term.

He already has a life sentence of guilt.

To make things just a little more heart wrenching, a month before Michael came to live with his father, Walter Sylvia was awarded custody of his child after five years of battling in court.

Those same courts will decide if he negligently caused his son’s death.

Who’s to say Michael Sylvia wouldn’t have died even if he were wearing a seatbelt? The end result would have been the same—one child dead—but his father wouldn’t be charged with manslaughter. It would have simply been an accident—coincidental bad luck.

But no, Los Angeles County wants Walter Sylvia to suffer more—to rub his face in the death of his son.

Several years ago, a friend told me an unforgettable story. After a high school basketball game in a nearby town, her grandfather was driving her parents and older brother home. The brother, a bright, promising athlete, played in that very game.

Sometime during the ride, while the parents and brother dozed, the grandfather either fell asleep or had a heart attack while driving.

Both the grandfather and his grandson died in the accident.

My friend was devastated. But one thing she said still echoes: she was glad her grandfather died, rather than live with the thought that he killed his grandson.

Isn’t that punishment enough for Walter Sylvia?