Glued tot's mom given 99-year jail sentence
Source: Agencies |
October 14, 2012, Sunday
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A WOMAN who beat her two-year-old daughter and glued the toddler's hands to a wall was sentenced on Friday to 99 years in prison by a judge in the United States who described his decision as a necessary punishment for a brutal, shocking attack.
Elizabeth Escalona, from Dallas, Texas, did not react as Judge Larry Mitchell pronounced the sentence at the end of a five-day hearing. Prosecutor Eren Price, who originally offered Escalona a plea deal for 45 years, had argued that she now thought the 23-year-old mother deserved life.
Mitchell said his decision came down to one thing. "On September 7, 2011, you savagely beat your child to the edge of death," Mitchell said. "For this you must be punished."
The beating left Jocelyn Cedillo in a coma for a couple of days.
Escalona's other children told authorities their mother attacked Jocelyn due to potty training problems. Police say she kicked her daughter in the stomach, beat her with a milk jug, then stuck her hands to an apartment wall with an adhesive known as Super Glue.
Jocelyn suffered bleeding in her brain, a fractured rib, multiple bruises and bite marks, a doctor testified. Skin had been torn off her hands, where doctors also found glue residue and white paint chips from the apartment wall.
Jocelyn has since recovered and is now being cared for by her grandmother, Ofelia Escalona, who is taking care of her daughter's four other children.
Escalona pleaded guilty in July to one count of felony injury to a child.
Price said Escalona would be eligible to apply for parole in 30 years.
The prosecutor argued Friday that if a stranger had beaten Jocelyn the same way, no one would hesitate to give that person life in prison.
Defense attorney Angie N'Duka had asked for probation or a prison sentence shorter than 10 years. N'Duka said her client was a "train wreck" waiting to happen, the product of a broken home, abuse and a childhood that included drugs and hanging out with gangs.
When Mitchell announced the sentence, a family member of Escalona began sobbing and screaming, "No!"
N'Duka said that Escalona had asked afterward, "What about my children?"
The defense attorney said the sentence was "way too harsh."
Elizabeth Escalona, from Dallas, Texas, did not react as Judge Larry Mitchell pronounced the sentence at the end of a five-day hearing. Prosecutor Eren Price, who originally offered Escalona a plea deal for 45 years, had argued that she now thought the 23-year-old mother deserved life.
Mitchell said his decision came down to one thing. "On September 7, 2011, you savagely beat your child to the edge of death," Mitchell said. "For this you must be punished."
The beating left Jocelyn Cedillo in a coma for a couple of days.
Escalona's other children told authorities their mother attacked Jocelyn due to potty training problems. Police say she kicked her daughter in the stomach, beat her with a milk jug, then stuck her hands to an apartment wall with an adhesive known as Super Glue.
Jocelyn suffered bleeding in her brain, a fractured rib, multiple bruises and bite marks, a doctor testified. Skin had been torn off her hands, where doctors also found glue residue and white paint chips from the apartment wall.
Jocelyn has since recovered and is now being cared for by her grandmother, Ofelia Escalona, who is taking care of her daughter's four other children.
Escalona pleaded guilty in July to one count of felony injury to a child.
Price said Escalona would be eligible to apply for parole in 30 years.
The prosecutor argued Friday that if a stranger had beaten Jocelyn the same way, no one would hesitate to give that person life in prison.
Defense attorney Angie N'Duka had asked for probation or a prison sentence shorter than 10 years. N'Duka said her client was a "train wreck" waiting to happen, the product of a broken home, abuse and a childhood that included drugs and hanging out with gangs.
When Mitchell announced the sentence, a family member of Escalona began sobbing and screaming, "No!"
N'Duka said that Escalona had asked afterward, "What about my children?"
The defense attorney said the sentence was "way too harsh."
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