When Georgia parents were found guilty of abusing their newborn child, they could have spent decades in prison, but each got a very short term.
Twelve of the sixteen counts against Tarilyn Allie Lester Alexander and Joseph Tyler Alexander in Pike County, Georgia were found guilty of “horrific abuse” of their eight-week-old son after a six-day trial and five hours of deliberation by the jurors. Griffin Judicial Circuit Superior Court Judge Ben Miller Jr. gave each of them 18 months in prison and 15 years of probation on May 9, even though they could have spent up to 240 years in jail.
Griffin Judicial Circuit District Attorney Marie Broder said in a statement, “The investigation showed the victim had been horribly abused more than once.” When shown the multiple injuries, the defendants didn’t offer any reason for the trauma, whether it was done on purpose or by accident.
Fox 5 Atlanta said that photographs shown in court showed bruises on the boy’s face and genitalia, as well as reports of 11 broken bones and bleeding in both eyes. The baby had been in the neonatal intensive care unit (NICU) for more than a week after being diagnosed with Ehlers-Danlos syndrome. However, expert evidence showed that the syndrome had nothing to do with the injuries the baby had sustained.
According to the Mayo Clinic, the syndrome is a group of inherited conditions that affect your skin, joints, and blood vessel walls. People who have the syndrome “usually have overly flexible joints and stretchy, fragile skin.”
Doctors from Children’s Healthcare of Atlanta said in Broder’s statement that the victim’s injuries were consistent with non-accidental damage.
She named the expert witnesses from hospital systems like Children’s Healthcare, Emory, Navicent, and Piedmont. “The state brought 11 of the victim’s treating doctors and one pediatric nurse practitioner to testify,” she said. It was agreed upon by all that abuse was the only possible cause of all the victim’s injuries.
Several doctors who treat people with hypermobile Ehlers-Danlos syndrome said in court that the condition does not cause injuries like the one the victim had.