Friday, October 12, 2012

Texas: A Hispanic mother who super-glued her 2-year-old daughter's hands to a wall and beat her over potty training problems has been sentenced to 99 years in prison

Elizabeth Escalona, 23, will be eligible to ask for parole in 30 years. She pleaded guilty in July 2012 to a charge of first-degree injury to a child, a crime punishable by anywhere between probation and life in prison. "This mom was pure evil, and her children are better off without her," prosecutor Eren Price said after a judge delivered the sentence. "Her five kids now have a chance to lead a productive life." Escalona's daughter Jocelyn Cedillo was less than two months shy of her 3rd birthday in September 2011 when Escalona used a powerful adhesive to glue her hands to a wall and beat her because of potty training troubles, authorities said. Three other children belonging to Escalona, who was pregnant at the time, witnessed the abuse, according to Dallas County district attorney's office spokeswoman Debbie Denmon. The child urinated on herself during the ordeal, during which she was hit in head and kicked in the groin, among other forms of abuse, Denmon said. Oefelia Escalona, the defendant's mother, testified during her daughter's sentencing hearing that she found the girl and took her to a hospital. Once Jocelyn was there, medical authorities noticed severe bruises to her face and head, as well as a severe brain injury that led to her temporarily being in a coma. At the sentencing hearing, prosecutors showed pictures of Jocelyn's hands and bruised body and forehead. "The entire picture was very shocking," said Dr. Amy Barton, then a child abuse pediatrician at Children's Medical Center of Dallas, choking back tears on the stand. "I see a lot of children, and this was one of the most shocking cases that I have seen." Escalona asked for leniency during her sentencing hearing, saying that she behaved like a monster but deserved a second chance. Her mother asked the judge to sentence Elizabeth to probation. Price initially offered a plea bargain of 45 years in prison, but Escalona turned it down, the district attorney's office said. Price said that the judge, after learning more about Escalona during the hearing, was justified in sentencing her to more time. "Elizabeth Escalona wasn't sorry for what she did to 2-year-old Jocelyn. Elizabeth Escalona felt sorry for herself," Price said. "Those tears on the stand were for her and not for the toddler she tortured." Before this incident, Escalona had been investigated by Texas Child Protective Services but never arrested or charged, Denmon said. The child welfare agency put all of her children in foster care after Jocelyn was taken to the hospital. All five of them, including Jocelyn, are now in the custody of their grandmother, Oefelia Escalona.

1 comment:

Anonymous said...

Disparate Impact!