At the age of six weeks, Crown Shakur died at the hands
of parents
who thought they were doing all they could do for
him. Lamont
Thomas and Jade Sanders were both Vegan and wanted
to stick to
their Vegan way of life, even when it came to their
new born son.
Crown was fed mainly soy milk and apple juice, which
just wasn't
enough to sustain his little body. Vegans do not
consume any animal products at all. Crown's parents insist they were doing
the best they could for him, he was their first and only child. Upon his
death, he
weighed only 3.5 pounds.
Defense attorneys said that Thomas and Jade had
no idea that Crown
was in trouble until a few minutes before he died.
Prosecutors say
that Crown suffered a long, painful death. They
said that the death did not come to be due to what he was fed, however,
he died due to not
being fed enough and that his nutritional needs
were ignored by his
parents who did it on purpose. The prosecutors
also said that Crown's parents refused to take him to the doctor even though
it was obvious that is body was wasting away.
Crown's parents were arrested and at trial his father
denied that they
had deliberately allowed their son to starve to
death:
"We're vegetarians; we are against animal
cruelty, so
why would I be cruel to my son? Why would
I do something with his body? We are against animals being murdered;
why would we be cruel to him and try to do
something
to his body"
Prosecutors said that the the new parents had starved
their baby on the diet they provided for him by giving him such small amounts
that he died due to complications from malnourishment. It was said that
the cupboards in their kitchen were empty. Prosecutors insisted that
Crown was starved on purpose.
Thomas told the judge it wasn't true, he denied
that he and his wife
were the cause of their sons death:
"The fact that we named him Crown, we were
proud
of him. We weren't trying to kill my son"
Thomas and Jade were both charged and found guilty
on charges of malice murder, felony murder, involuntary manslaughter and
cruelty
to children. Thomas was very critical of the prosecution
after the
trial ended. Jurors took about seven hours to convict
the couple.
Both parents were sentenced to life in prison. Their
attorney said he
was going to appeal the sentences.
For information about preventing
child abuse in the state of Georgia, click the links below. If they can't
help you, ask for someone who can. NEVER give up looking for help
for an abused child!
Call this number to report
child abuse ANY WHERE in the United States!
1-800-4-A-Child
1-800-422-4453
  
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