Tell me again how parents always know what's best for their children.
June 27, 2014
A former soldier convicted of killing his 5-year-old daughter will spend the rest of his life behind bars after a federal jury announced Friday it failed to agree on his sentence in the first death penalty trial in Hawaii since it became a state.
•••••
Talia's mother, Tarshia Williams, told The Associated Press by phone that she was glad her daughter got justice.
•••••
She said she believes the government could have done more to help her daughter since military police had shown up at the house for various domestic incidents.
•••••
Williams' defense team argued factors such as his two other children, his low IQ, and physical abuse he suffered from his stepfather were reasons to spare his life.
•••••
Williams and Talia's stepmother, Delilah Williams, testified during the guilt phase of the trial that they beat the girl almost daily with belts and their hands during the seven months she lived with them in Hawaii.
•••••
Naeem Williams said the beatings were discipline for the child's bowel- and bladder-control issues. He also blamed them on his frustrations with his marriage.
His wife testified against him as part of a deal with prosecutors for a 20-year sentence. Delilah Williams provided graphic and disturbing details of abuse that included withholding food for days at a time and beating the child while she was duct-taped to a bed.
The couple eventually took the kindergartner out of school so others wouldn't see the signs of abuse on her body.
Prosecutors say Talia died July 16, 2005, after her father dealt a blow so hard it left knuckle imprints on her chest. Naeem Williams said he beat the girl that day partly because of toothpaste she spit on the bathroom sink.
•••••
http://abcnews.go.com/US/wireStory/soldier-life-sentence-year-daughters-death-28781595
Delilah Williams recounted stomping on Talia. She was sentenced to 20 years in prison last year as part of a plea agreement.
•••••
tags: child abuse
No comments:
Post a Comment