Vegans sentenced for starving their baby
By GREG BLUESTEIN
ASSOCIATED PRESS WRITER
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."
