Vegan Couple Sentenced to Life Over Baby's Death

[Amadeus]

Vegan couple gets life over baby's death - Crime & Punishment - MSNBC.com

ATLANTA - A vegan couple were sentenced Wednesday to life in prison for the death of their malnourished 6-week-old baby boy, who was fed a diet largely consisting of soy milk and apple juice.

Superior Court Judge L.A. McConnell imposed the mandatory sentences on Jade Sanders, 27, and Lamont Thomas, 31. Their son, Crown Shakur, weighed just 3 1/2 pounds when he died of starvation on April 25, 2004.

The couple were found guilty May 2 of malice murder, felony murder, involuntary manslaughter and cruelty to children. A jury deliberated about seven hours before returning the guilty verdicts.

Defense lawyers said the first-time parents did the best they could while adhering to the lifestyle of vegans, who typically use no animal products. They said Sanders and Thomas did not realize the baby, who was born at home, was in danger until minutes before he died.

But prosecutors said the couple intentionally neglected their child and refused to take him to the doctor even as the baby’s body wasted away.

“No matter how many times they want to say, ‘We’re vegans, we’re vegetarians,’ that’s not the issue in this case,” said prosecutor Chuck Boring. “The child died because he was not fed. Period.”

Although the life sentences were automatic, Sanders and Thomas begged for leniency before sentencing. Sanders urged the judge to look past his “perception” of the couple.

“I loved my son — and I did not starve him,” she said.

When the judge told the defendants they could ask for a new trial, Thomas hung his head low.

“I’m dying every day in there,” he said, “and that could take three years.”

[Steve Pavlina]

Sounds more idiot than vegan to me. Erin and I have seen similar stories over the years. Usually the people calling themselves vegan are just horribly ignorant. Of course this sort of thing happens even more often with non-vegans, but it doesn't usually make the news.

Breastfeeding is the way to go anyway.

[Amadeus]

Dairy industry saying "cha ching". I wonder if the baby were malnourished using too little baby formula if they would have gotten the same sentence.

[joey m]

What a sad story! What kind of parent feeds children anything but breast milk (or formula) at only 6 weeks of age? I agree with you Steve that this is not a vegan thing, it is just tragic ignorance.

[Drayoki]

If, for whatever the reason, they wanted their child to have a vegan diet, why didn't she just breastfeed him? Breast milk is made of what the mother eats. No meat/by products in, non out. I know there are a lot of factors into that; i.e., maybe she didn't produce enough milk and so on, but then find a doctor or certified nutritionist who will listen to your diet preferences for your child and do the right thing for the kid. This could have been prevented by common sense. It's terrible.

[Erin Pavlina]

Some people are just ignorant about what they need to feed a child. That's why there are labels on soymilk that say "not to be used as formula" and what not. It's sad that people can so easily make a life and yet do nothing to research how to take care of it once it is born.

[Gordon]

Originally Posted by Steve Pavlina

Sounds more idiot than vegan to me. Erin and I have seen similar stories over the years. Usually the people calling themselves vegan are just horribly ignorant. Of course this sort of thing happens even more often with non-vegans, but it doesn't usually make the news.

Breastfeeding is the way to go anyway.

Hear, hear!!

G

[Kiba]

I don't know if it is a proper solution.

Wouldn't it be better to just breast-fed your babies?

EDIT:
Sorry, I read too fast to notice tiny details.

[aabbcc]

Originally Posted by Erin Pavlina

Some people are just ignorant about what they need to feed a child. That's why there are labels on soymilk that say "not to be used as formula" and what not. It's sad that people can so easily make a life and yet do nothing to research how to take care of it once it is born.

I absolutely agree.

And for anyone who might be wondering, breast feeding is a perfectly vegan thing to do.

If for some reason the woman couldn't breast feed, why on earth didn't she use soy formula? It's on the store shelves right next to the dairy formula, not hard to find at all.

[Jim11]

the kid was 3.5 lbs and they refused to take it to a doctor. I think that's all that needs to be said about these people.

sentencing leniency? please no.

[Acting Like Godot]

I was a former Deputy Public Prosecutor - I handled criminal cases every day, and I will tell you that the nature of criminal cases is such that very often there's a lot more happening than what a cursory glance at a newspaper article would suggest to the casual reader.

If you wanted to kill your baby, one way would be to starve him and then make it look as if you were just a stupid parent who didn't know any better. That way, you could try to get off with a lighter sentence.

The "vegan defence" is exactly that - a defence, an argument raised by the accused. In the same way, accused persons commit a crime and then claim that they were insane / drunk / stupid / mistaken.

Whether this is true or not ultimately is a determination that the judge will have to make. Obviously the judge is not buying the story here. Otherwise offences such as "malice murder" wouldn't be among the list of convictions.

[Acting Like Godot]

And yes, there is nothing better than breastmilk for babies!

[Ninja]

Originally Posted by Acting Like Godot

And yes, there is nothing better than breastmilk for babies!

But would that qualify as vegan?

[Stephen]

Originally Posted by Amadeus

Vegan couple gets life over baby's death - Crime & Punishment - MSNBC.com

ATLANTA - A vegan couple were sentenced Wednesday to life in prison for the death of their malnourished 6-week-old baby boy, who was fed a diet largely consisting of soy milk and apple juice.

Superior Court Judge L.A. McConnell imposed the mandatory sentences on Jade Sanders, 27, and Lamont Thomas, 31. Their son, Crown Shakur, weighed just 3 1/2 pounds when he died of starvation on April 25, 2004.

The couple were found guilty May 2 of malice murder, felony murder, involuntary manslaughter and cruelty to children. A jury deliberated about seven hours before returning the guilty verdicts.

Defense lawyers said the first-time parents did the best they could while adhering to the lifestyle of vegans, who typically use no animal products. They said Sanders and Thomas did not realize the baby, who was born at home, was in danger until minutes before he died.

But prosecutors said the couple intentionally neglected their child and refused to take him to the doctor even as the baby’s body wasted away.

“No matter how many times they want to say, ‘We’re vegans, we’re vegetarians,’ that’s not the issue in this case,” said prosecutor Chuck Boring. “The child died because he was not fed. Period.”

Although the life sentences were automatic, Sanders and Thomas begged for leniency before sentencing. Sanders urged the judge to look past his “perception” of the couple.

“I loved my son — and I did not starve him,” she said.

When the judge told the defendants they could ask for a new trial, Thomas hung his head low.

“I’m dying every day in there,” he said, “and that could take three years.”

Yeah, this story makes about as much sense in reporting as it does to say...."BLACK MAN KILLS 50 PEOPLE IN MASS SHOOTING"

The inference is that Black people (vegans) are somehow at fault for being black (or vegan) and that THAT is what the problem is.

The sad conclusion from this case is that, the couple are obviously ignorant in nutrition, lacking in parental responsibility and more than likely have a low IQ combination.

The other conclusion is that the media haven't changed from their perpetual ability to sensationalize the irrelevant part of the message.

[Keith]

Is Vegan breast milk sufficient for babies? I understand that the diet works fine for the mother, and that's passed on in the milk, but don't babies have different nutritional needs to adults?

[Erin Pavlina]

All babies can survive on breastmilk be they vegan or not. At around 6 months of age babies begin to be interested in solid foods at which time starting them on fruits and veggies is awesome and not likely to cause allergies. By one year of age, babies don't NEED breastmilk or formula to survive, though continued breastfeeding is beneficial. No formula in the world can match the nutritional value of breastmilk.

At one year of age you can start giving other milks if you desire but none are actually necessary. All a baby needs for drinking is breastmilk or water.

Raising vegan children is fine as long as you're meeting their nutritional needs. Same is true for any diet a child is on; it should meet their nutritional needs. It is very easy to raise a healthy vegan child but some people don't put a lot of thought into it, just as some omnivorous parents think it's okay to give a one year old soda and burgers and fries, so too can misguided vegan parents give their vegan children sodas, fries, and too much junk food.

But yeah, breastmilk is totally sufficient for babies, vegan or not.

[Ninja]

But is breastmilk, even if the mother eats vegan, really vegan? As far as I know, vegans don't eat or drink animal products. And since humans are animals... eh? eh?

[ChefSalad]

Even as a straight up omnivore, Ninja, I'm going to say that that assertion is ridiculous. There's no way anyone, rabid anti-meat "vegan" or otherwise, would seriously make that assertion. As a joke, it could be funny, but tasteless in this case.

[5of8]

The body needs vitamin B-12 which ONLY comes from animal sources.

[Dan.Linehan]

Originally Posted by 5of8

The body needs vitamin B-12 which ONLY comes from animal sources.

Incorrect. See here.

[kat]

Originally Posted by Dan.Linehan

Incorrect. See here.

You (Dan) are correct that B12 is not only available from animal sources. However, the page that you linked to contains several questionable things. The most serious is that it downplays the need for B12 supplementation by vegans. Given modern sanitary conditions, there are no RELIABLE, consistent vegan sources of B12 except for supplements. This isn't purely theoretical, either: I've been vegan for over 6 years, and my B12 levels have dropped precipitously over this time, despite occasional supplementation. At the worst levels I've been measured as having, my B12 levels were dangerously low - low enough to cause anemia, although not yet low enough for permanent nerve damage. Vegan B12 supplementation is easy, but that doesn't make it unnecessary, and the consequences of very low B12 levels are severe and permanent.

A more minor problem of the page is the endorsement of Hulda Clark. If she's not a fraud, she does an extremely convincing job of posing as one.

[Kosmos]

You can find more information about vitamin B12 for vegans at:

PCRM >> Questions About Vegetarian Diets >> Don't Vegetarians Have Trouble Getting Enough Vitamin B12?.