(CBS/AP) DALLAS - Elizabeth Escalona, a Dallas mother, has been sentenced to 99 years in prison for beating her two-year-old daughter and gluing the child's hands to a wall.
Escalona faced from probation to life in prison, with prosecutors seeking 45 years behind bars. A state district judge decided her sentence Friday, 12th.
Police say Escalona attacked two-year-old Jocelyn Cedillo because of potty training problems. The 23-year-old pleaded guilty in July to felony injury to a child.
Police records show Escalona's other children told authorities she kicked Jocelyn in the stomach and hit her with a jug in September 2011. They said Escalona glued Jocelyn's hands to the wall with a type of strong adhesive known as super glue.Jocelyn suffered bleeding in her brain, multiple bruises and was in a coma for a couple of days.
Nothing justifies such cruelty. A world council should decide on such crimes - cruelty to humans, especially children, can be judged by a world council regardless of the country where the crime occurs.
ReplyDeleteby the way ... today is celebrated Children's Day in Brazil.
I can't even imagine how frightened Jocelyn must have been. Being beaten and kicked by the one person she should have been able to trust beyond everyone else, having her hands glued to the wall. I can only hope she'll have no recollection of it. It had to be better not to have any memories of a mother capable of such things.
ReplyDeleteWhen you have children, you're accepting so many responsibilities. You're promising that you'll keep them safe, that you'll give them the best life you possibly can, that you'll do everything in your power to keep them from coming to any harm. If you're incapable of doing that or unwilling, you're not fit to be a parent. Child protection isn't just a set of laws. It's the most important promise you'll ever make.
Elizabeth Escalona not only broke that promise, she actually harmed her child herself. No parent who deserves the title should be capable of that.