gnat Posted May 9, 2007 Share Posted May 9, 2007 Sorry if this was posted elsewhere. Tell you what though--the vegan bashers I know are having a field day with it. http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/18574603/?GT1=9951 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Odidnetne Posted May 10, 2007 Share Posted May 10, 2007 What they fed the child (if that's pretty much it) really isn't enough, and should instead have breastfed the child. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Posted May 10, 2007 Share Posted May 10, 2007 Its rediculous in terms of what the defense attourney said...which basically confirms vegans would all die if fed a vegan diet at birth...luckily the prosecuter has more brains than the defense and said it had nothing to do with them being vegan...just that they weren't fed. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Zack Posted May 10, 2007 Share Posted May 10, 2007 Baby should have been breastfed... how unfortunate. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gnat Posted May 10, 2007 Author Share Posted May 10, 2007 Maybe she wasn't capable of breastfeeding. Not all women are. Certainly still no excuse though. They definitely got what they deserved. I'm just bummed it's giving vegan haters so much ammo. The media is using it to bash the vegan lifestyle, IMO. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
loveliberate Posted May 10, 2007 Share Posted May 10, 2007 I'd like to get a whole LOT more information about this... I strongly hope that folks wont come to any judgements about these people & their situation based on this one article. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
robert Posted May 10, 2007 Share Posted May 10, 2007 Edit: oops, I didn't see the link.....oh well, people can read it here too and click on the link to MSN as well. veganmomma posted this in the AR section: 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.” Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
chesty leroux Posted May 10, 2007 Share Posted May 10, 2007 this is pretty old isnt is? weren't they raw foodists? I remember reading about it a few years ago when I was into raw foods. If i remember right they were giving him avocado and water in a bottle. These people were stupid. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
chesty leroux Posted May 10, 2007 Share Posted May 10, 2007 oh wait never mind that was a different case. STILL they were stupid. It says right on the soymilk containers not for use as infant formula. Even if she couldn't breastfeed they could have gotten a soy based formula. They're giving other vegan parents a bad name. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
compassionate1 Posted May 11, 2007 Share Posted May 11, 2007 Yeah, this is a terribly sad story. Why wouldn't they have actually done some research on what would be the best thing to feed the baby? If I were going to be a parent, I'd probably spend hours upon hours researching. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Posted May 11, 2007 Share Posted May 11, 2007 The simple answer is that they are cruel and/or simply have no common sense. You don't need to do research to have common sense enough to realize that this is not a healthy way to feed an infant. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kyle Posted May 11, 2007 Share Posted May 11, 2007 I looked into this yesterday. It made me stop and think - what the hell were these parents thinking? - Was there any research or learning done on their part to ensure that their baby would be able to survive on a vegan diet? Could the mother breast feed or did she choose not to in favor of the soy milk? Or...were the parents sick people who starved their baby and just happened to be vegan? I want more information too but I wasn't able to find anything other than that short article. I certainly agree with what others have said in regard to the media having a vegan-bashing field day not to mention what the average uneducated meat eater will think of vegans from this one incident. My dad told me about this (he still hasn't come to terms with my dietary changes) and the way he said it made me believe that he was confirming to himself that vegans are crazy. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Richard Posted May 13, 2007 Share Posted May 13, 2007 Yeah, nothing to do with veganism. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
finbarrio Posted May 13, 2007 Share Posted May 13, 2007 Yeah, nothing to do with veganism. Agreed. Much more to do with being stupid/cruel parents. Even the prosecutor said that he thought they were trying to use veganism as a defense (in grasping for straws), AND, he said that there was nothing wrong with raising a child vegan as long as you do it right. Anyone who has met LL's beautiful kids knows how true that is! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CollegeB Posted May 13, 2007 Share Posted May 13, 2007 It is interesting this was ruled as malicious homicide and not negligent. Too bad for the kid the parents were stupid. A vegan diet isnt bad for children, just look to the vegan parents on our forum. Fortunately for the convicted the US prison system knows more about a vegan diet than they do, so they wont starve to death. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
andgbr Posted May 13, 2007 Share Posted May 13, 2007 they're probably going to be healthier in the jail... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
loveliberate Posted May 14, 2007 Share Posted May 14, 2007 I think that there is more to this then we've heard so far & would really like to know what the people were thinking... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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