Chief
05-02-2007, 04:08 PM
http://www.ajc.com/metro/content/metro/atlanta/stories/2007/05/02/0502vegans.html
By BETH WARREN
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Published on: 05/02/07
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.
**SCHNIPP**
This happened a while ago, in fact we debated this case in Nutrition class while I was attending Western Culinary. The issue was whether the parents should be allowed to inflict their vegan lifestyle on their infant, and the answer is "No". We considered the caloric intake these two were feeding the baby, and it was amazing that the child survived as long as he did. Babies have very different nutritional requirements than adults...
But this kind of lunatic fringe behavior is encouraged around these parts...some would say that the biggest mistake these 2 "parents" made was not to have lived in the Pacifist Northwest...
Stout Hearts...
By BETH WARREN
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Published on: 05/02/07
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.
**SCHNIPP**
This happened a while ago, in fact we debated this case in Nutrition class while I was attending Western Culinary. The issue was whether the parents should be allowed to inflict their vegan lifestyle on their infant, and the answer is "No". We considered the caloric intake these two were feeding the baby, and it was amazing that the child survived as long as he did. Babies have very different nutritional requirements than adults...
But this kind of lunatic fringe behavior is encouraged around these parts...some would say that the biggest mistake these 2 "parents" made was not to have lived in the Pacifist Northwest...
Stout Hearts...