Foster mom sentenced in death of 4-year-old
By Laurel J. Sweet
http://www.bostonherald.com/news/regional/general/view.bg?articleid=1049060
A foster mom from hell was whacked with twice the prison time the state
recommends for an involuntary manslaughter conviction, but never heard
the harshest words spoken for allowing 4-year-old Dontel Jeffers to be
brutally beaten to death in her care.
In a handwritten letter submitted to Suffolk Superior Court Judge
Margaret Hinkle, Wendy Claiborne, an aunt of Dontel, told Department of
Social Services foster mom Corinne Stephen, “I hate you for taking my
nephew’s life. I hate you (for) not being a woman and reaching out for
help.”
Stephen, the 26-year-old mother of a 5-year-old son, faced her
punishment stoically in a gray pant suit, dark-rimmed glasses and hair
pulled back in a bun. An Army brat and former National Guardsman,
Stephen declined Hinkle’s invitation to explain herself to Dontel’s family.
After his father, Elary Jeffers, was deported to the Caribbean island of
Nevis in 2005, Dontel was in Stephen’s care only 10 days when someone
choked and beat him to death over a period of 48 hours. But rather than
get him to a doctor, Stephen fed Dontel what Deakin called “a massive
overdose of codeine to suppress his symptoms.”
Stephen was indicted for murder, but not persuaded she was the killer, a
jury last month found her guilty of the lesser charge of involuntary
manslaughter, for which state guidelines recommend a prison sentence of
three to five years.
Assistant Suffolk District Attorney David Deakin told Hinkle, who
banished Stephen to MCI-Framingham for 8 to 12 years, that Stephen’s
seeming lack of remorse or acceptance of responsibility was worthy of 18
to 20 years.
“She lied to medical providers, she lied to police, she lied to DSS
investigators,” Deakin said. “Society put its trust in (Stephen) to care
for (Jeffers), look after him and keep him safe.”
Stephen’s defense attorney, John Palmer, said, “There is absolutely
nothing in Corinne’s background that would suggest she was capable of
this crime. It’s absolutely inexplicable.”
Palmer argued futilely to have Stephen placed under house arrest,
saying, “Do we have to incarcerate my client to protect society? No.
Hasn’t this case destroyed enough lives already?”
In his own heartbreaking letter to Hinkle, despondent dad Elary Jeffers
wrote, “Dontel turned my life around. He gave me purpose in life and
made me a better man. My life now is empty. I would gladly suffer all
the pain he suffered only to have him back.”
sweet@bostonherald.com
CURRENTLY CHILD PROTECTIVE SERVICES VIOLATES MORE CIVIL RIGHTS ON A
DAILY BASIS THEN ALL OTHER AGENCIES COMBINED INCLUDING THE NATIONAL
SECURITY AGENCY/CENTRAL INTELLIGENCE AGENCY WIRETAPPING PROGRAMS....
CPS Does not protect children...
It is sickening how many children are subject to abuse, neglect and even
killed at the hands of Child Protective Services.
every parent should read this .pdf from
connecticut dcf watch...
http://www.connecticutdcfwatch.com/8x11.pdf
http://www.connecticutdcfwatch.com
Number of Cases per 100,000 children in the US
These numbers come from The National Center on
Child Abuse and Neglect in Washington. (NCCAN)
Recent numbers have increased significantly for CPS
*Perpetrators of Maltreatment*
Physical Abuse CPS 160, Parents 59
Sexual Abuse CPS 112, Parents 13
Neglect CPS 410, Parents 241
Medical Neglect CPS 14 Parents 12
Fatalities CPS 6.4, Parents 1.5
Imagine that, 6.4 children die at the hands of the very agencies that
are supposed to protect them and only 1.5 at the hands of parents per
100,000 children. CPS perpetrates more abuse, neglect, and sexual abuse
and kills more children then parents in the United States. If the
citizens of this country hold CPS to the same standards that they hold
parents too. No judge should ever put another child in the hands of ANY
government agency because CPS nationwide is guilty of more harm and
death than any human being combined. CPS nationwide is guilty of more
human rights violations and deaths of children then the homes from which
they were removed. When are the judges going to wake up and see that
they are sending children to their death and a life of abuse when
children are removed from safe homes based on the mere opinion of a
bunch of social workers.
CHILD PROTECTIVE SERVICES, HAPPILY DESTROYING THOUSANDS OF INNOCENT
FAMILIES YEARLY NATIONWIDE AND COMING TO YOU'RE HOME SOON...
BE SURE TO FIND OUT WHERE YOUR CANDIDATES STANDS ON THE ISSUE OF
REFORMING OR ABOLISHING CHILD PROTECTIVE SERVICES ("MAKE YOUR CANDIDATES
TAKE A STAND ON THIS ISSUE.") THEN REMEMBER TO VOTE ACCORDINGLY IF THEY
ARE "FAMILY UNFRIENDLY" IN THE NEXT ELECTION...
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