Vegan parents guilty in infant murder

Atlanta Journal-Constitution ^ | 5/2/2007 | Beth Warren

[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.

[DogByte6RER]

Hitler starved the Jews...these parents starved their baby. Go figure.

Check out “Hitler Was A Vegetarian”

http://www.geocities.com/hitlerwasavegetarian/

[NTW64]

LMAO!

[xsmommy]

my pups like apples, pears, raspberries, watermelon and cantalope. we grilled outside on Sunday and they were chowing on the grilled zucchini too. well that and the little bits of steak too ; )

[gcruse]

“If only they’d been in Florida, it would have been peaceful and beatific.”

Only if the baby had pudding for a brain.

[N3WBI3]

Zofran, thanks... Lovely stuff!

[magslinger]

This isn’t really a “vegan” thing. At 6 weeks the baby isn’t going to be eating any meat anyway — we didn’t feed our child any meat-like stuff for a year (we did breast-feed, and did the normal peas, rice, etc).

Our daughter was six months old. My wife was holding her as my wife ate her dinner (the daughter had already eaten). Mrs Mag dropped a piece of meatloaf on her arm, set her fork down and looked at our little girl happily gumming and swallowing.

The only effect it had on her is she slept the night for the first time. Meat was on the menu after that.

[El Cid]

Double Agreed.
A very tragic loss for all involved - but unless there is more to the story these people are just guilty of extreme stupidity. It cost the life of their baby, but as near as I could tell there was no malice intended... Just being wedded to some false idol of a lifestyle ('we must only eat plant food') caused them to make a very poor, and tragic, life decision.
I presume they are repentant and mourn the diet choice they forced upon their baby (...and if not ... then you have my permission to lock them up and throw away the key)

[CGTRWK]

The taxpayers of Georgia are going to pay 4 or 5 million dollars to lock these morons up in cages forever.

Prison should be for the malicious and dangerous, not the idiotic.

[Old Professer]

Gross stupidity should not be punished in this manner; it’s too expensive, solves nothing, and doesn’t even make us feel any better.

If what they had done were cloaked in religion the punishment would have likely been far different; as long as we allow abortion on the one hand and termination of life support on the other we cannot avoid looking like fools by picking on deficient people.

[Captain Rhino]

Actually, making them spend the rest of their lives behind bars contemplating the act of thoughtless loyalty to their DIETARY LIFESTYLE and its consequences to the innocent life entrusted to their care is far more cruel than simply executing them.

I only wish it was life in solitary confinement without possibility of parole. Then there would be nothing to distract them in their meditations.

They probably would not last all that long before insanity or death (or, hopefully, both) overtook them.

[just me]

The baby was born at home... It could have had problems from the start. But a mother should know if something is wrong with her child...I don’t know about life in prison, but it sure warrants jail time.

[windcliff]

ping

[Andonius_99]

No pictures, but given that they're vegans, I've made a composite sketch of the perps...

[Caipirabob]

"They're not vegans, they're baby killers," Fulton prosecutor Mike Carlson told the jury Tuesday during his closing arguments.

Apparently their child, their most precious gift, wasn't strong enough to adapt to their "liberal world". Pathetic excuses for adults...

[montag813]

But that would be food from a mammal and they're against that.

This will shock you, but that is exactly what this couple SAID. Read the original case notes.

[ErnBatavia]

Someone must have wanted a free lunch.....

Jurors get fed in your neck of the woods? All we got were those stupid 2 1/2 hour lunch breaks - plenty of time to go over to Del Taco and then be bored hanging around the courthouse until the lawyers and bailiffs would get back.

[Bon mots]

www.vegansareevil.com

[keepitreal]

Most 6-week old babies I know only drink mother’s milk or formula. If they were already feeding the baby formula they just were deliberately not feeding him enough. This has nothing to do with veganism, just plain malicious child abuse resulting in death. They deserved everything they got. An excuse that at 27 and 30 they just didn’t know better is ridiculous.

[toldyou]

What am I missing? This baby was 6 weeks old? Sure, breast milk is preferable, then formula, but some people give soy. How could they be accused of murder? You don’t give solids at that age. Again....what am I missing?

[albee]

"No pictures, but given that they're vegans, I've made a composite sketch of the perps..."

LOL...and very creative!

I figured they would be people of color and your pic fits them perfectly!