Posted on 05/02/2007 1:32:55 PM PDT by Turbopilot
The parents of a baby that died of starvation after being fed a vegan diet have been found guilty of malice murder, felony murder and first degree cruelty to children.
Jade Sanders, 27, and Lamont Thomas, 31, will get an automatic life sentence for the death of their 6-week-old infant, Crown. After being fed a diet largely consisting of soy milk and apple juice, he weighed only 3 1/2 pounds when he died.
The Fulton County jury deliberated the case for about seven hours.
Prosecutors said it was a chilling case of murder by starvation, a painful and prolonged death. Attorneys representing Sanders and Thomas told jurors the first-time parents did the best they could while adhering to their vegan lifestyle. Vegans typically live free of animal products.
"They're not vegans, they're baby killers," Fulton prosecutor Mike Carlson told the jury Tuesday during his closing arguments.
The couple's attorneys said they didn't realize their baby, born at home, was in danger until minutes before he died.
Being the husband, resident gofer and pack mule --with children -- I've perfected the two-handed, four-gallon milk run. Lots and lots of practice...:-)
I am a nurse, and I know there are women for whom breastfeeding does not work out.
We adopted a boy at 20 months who was malnourished - he didn't have the strength to stand and weighed about as much as a U.S. newborn. In addition to solid food, instead of milk we gave him formula spiked with sugar so it would taste good. He pounded it down and began gaining weight right away.
That may or may not be true (seems pretty subjective) but in any case, make sure you take methionine supplements because your body can't make it and it's found only in meat, eggs, fish and dairy products.
My almond milk carton (I love the stuff) distinctly reads: "Not to be used as an infant formula."
Also my rice milk carton. Since I'm allergic to soy, I don't buy the drink, but I wouldn't be surprised if it had the same message printed somewhere.
I didn’t make the statements you quoted. Although I would disagree with your contention that veganism is the “healthiest” diet (at least without defining “healthy”), I have no problems with vegetarians, vegans, or followers of any other dietary lifestyle, provided they don’t try to force their choice on other people or endanger those in their care.
These parents killed their child by not providing it with its natural food source of breast milk and failing to provide it with other sources for the calories and nutrients it needed. I think letting them rot in jail is perfectly appropriate.
Heinous... This was rampant stupidity, yes, but it seems that these parents are being punished very harshly (life?), whereas other deaths PURPOSEFULLY caused by different people who were just exercising their “rights” as mothers or as primary caregivers are given the green light.
I’ve deleted this message twice because I get carried away when I think about all the double standards in todays judicial system. It seems completely arbitrary anymore what’s considered murder. If these parents pick up the Shaivo lawyer I’m sure they’ll win on appeal. Their baby probably had extensive brain damage, weighing only 3.5 pounds, I’m sure some judge will determine starvation was the best thing for it. Or if they can depict their Vegan diet as a religious matter, like many parents whose children die because they refuse to seek vaccinations or medical care. And if they’d killed him a few weeks earlier they could’ve gotten off scott free, since the baby wasn’t ‘human’ yet at that point. Unless someone other than the mother did it, in which case oops somehow the fetus really was human and now a murder has been committed.
Ohhh... I know I’m raving, but sometimes it feels like the courts are making their decisions up out of thin air these days, and who gets punished and who gets excused has no rhyme or reason to it at all. How can someone get life in prison for making a horrible mistake raising their baby, when women who every day intentionally murder their own children have the judiciary defend it as a god given right?
The sentence seems too harsh to me. They were trying the best for their child, seems the problem was one of incredible stupidity - how could they not see at six weeks 3 lbs is way too small?
It seems to me the crime should have been more about negligent homicide, rather than willful murder.
Truly, Darwinism in action.
I was not discussing doctrine, but the original diet laid out in Genesis. Of course you posted stuff that has nothing to do with what I was talking about. Doctrines of devils?? Get real.
I remember doing pear juice, but not before 6 months or so, maybe it was a little earlier. We were doing tapioca and mashed peas earlier than that to help sleep.
Our second we did some formula because he started in the hospital for 10 days, but we broke him back into breast feeding while he was still there when he was strong enough.
Bless your heart for helping him! I’m glad he’s doing so well.
I’m wondering what this baby weighed when born. What I can’t understand is how could they convict a couple who apparently fed their child, yet the baby didn’t gain weight, and these young mothers who kill their babies sometimes don’t serve any time.
That darn minister’s wife got probation for killing her husband. Ugh!
It really IS murder by purposeful arrogance. They just knew better than everyone else!
Well, prosecutors are a class of political beast out to prove a point and enhance their egos.
I believe onions are supposed to be bad for dogs. Not sure why, but check me on it before you continue with the onions.
My husband’s old cat used to eat ANYTHING he gave her with his own hand. Lettuce, Doritos, whatever. I think she was in love with him. She used to follow him around the house.
Since a lot of vitamins are made from animal byproducts, I bet that’s much of the reason behind why they avoided the formula. Unless the soy milk they were giving the baby was indigestible, the baby may have survived if there had been some form of sugar added & while apple juice would have some, there’s no way it had enough & it gives some infants diarrhea. Don't try this at home folks. A pediatrician should be consulted.
That's adorable. My cat is in love with my husband's stuff. She will cuddle on his side of the bed, up to his shoes, his clothes, etc. But, she's terrified of him. When he comes near her her fur raises and she puts her claws out. He's never done anything that should scare her.
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