Posted on 06/29/2005 8:36:36 AM PDT by Dan from Michigan
Severe terms in scalding Man gets 6-15 years for burning boy, 7, in tub of water
Wednesday, June 29, 2005
BY ART AISNER
News Staff Reporter
"At least I can deal with adults that afflict pain on each other ... but the pain you inflicted on this young boy is almost beyond my comprehension,'' Circuit Judge Donald Shelton told Byron McFarlin before sentencing him to 6-15 years in prison Tuesday.
The punishment was the most severe Shelton could impose under the state's sentencing guidelines, which he agreed not to exceed when McFarlin pleaded no contest to one count of first-degree child abuse last month. Yet he appeared reluctant to meet the agreement Tuesday, calling the crime an example of excessive brutality and said he likely would have exceeded sentencing guidelines had McFarlin forced a trial.
"You should not think that lessens at all my repugnance about what happened here,'' Shelton said of his decision to stick to the top of the guidelines. "He'll likely recover from his injuries, but this boy's never going to recover from the psychological damage you inflicted.''
McFarlin, 40, placed the boy in a tub full of scalding water in the Ypsilanti Township apartment he shared with Stephanie Williams, the boy's mother, on Jan. 10 as a punishment for breaking a household rule. The boy suffered third-degree burns to his feet and legs and was hospitalized for a month because of the injuries and subsequent infections that developed because he was denied medical treatment and forced to stay in a closet, often without food or water, police said.
Williams, who is scheduled to stand trial in September on two counts of second-degree child abuse stemming from the incident, called police to get medical attention about two weeks later.
A separate trial to determine her parental rights is scheduled for November.
McFarlin stood silently throughout the hearing, occasionally nodding his head and turning to talk to his attorney John Toomey while Shelton spoke. He declined the opportunity to address the court prior to sentencing but did send a letter to Shelton, details of which were not revealed.
Toomey argued that McFarlin's use of crack cocaine contributed to his actions that day, and that the severity of the boy's injuries were magnified by faulty plumbing that exceeded water-temperature regulations.
Assistant Washtenaw County Prosecutor Paul Barnett said McFarlin's actions and denial of medical care were very disturbing and worthy of severe punishment.
"If any case deserves the top of the guidelines, this one does,'' he said.
Williams, 34, is living in the area with her father and is in counseling, her attorney Gregory Dodd said. She is barred from visiting her son and two other children, including an infant fathered by McFarlin, while the parental rights case is pending.
All three children are living with relatives.
Forget water......get a rope.
Yspi-tucky figures.
Another BOM tragedy.
Boyfriend Of Mother.
Yeah, this time, pour the water on his nads...
Remember the guy who killed his sons by putting them into some kind of heated ladle at a michigan steel mill some years back?
It isn't enough. Hurt, molest or kill a child and you need to be removed from society.
But I'm biased that way ;)
I never even hear about that.
The judge had every right to reject the plea agreement, and he should have.
It was probably 20 years ago in the UP I think. An estranged husband picked his sons up for visitation. He took them to the steel mill or foundry where he worked. He put them into some type of heated ladle turned it on and left.
I can understand ghetto trash crackheads doing things like this. They don't behave like humans, so nothing they do or say should surprise you.
But his lawyer is a middle class guy with an education who has no excuse to not know better. Trying to pass the blame away from this animal and put it on "faulty plumbing", how does he sleep at night?
The stupid mother waited 2 weeks before she got medical help for the boy. She ought to get a stiff sentence too and not ever get custody of the kid again either.
You got that right. The shack-up boyfriend should be put to death. The mother should be in prison for life along with the biological dads of the other children (for failing to protect their children).
I was a jury member on a trial just like this. The mother's boyfriend burned this little girl, 5 years old, the exact same way. The boyfriend tried to blame it on the 4 year old brother. He got the max, which at the time was 5 years.
15 years will be just about right, assuming he spends it alternating between sitting in tub of scalding water and being shut in a closet with no food or water.
I wonder how the other inmates will handle him, and how interested the guards will be in intervening?
"Hurt, molest or kill a child and you need to be removed from society."
I agree TOTALLY.
Since the state is unable to see justice done in cases like this, maybe some justifiably outraged citizen will take care of the bastard when he gets out of prison. Too bad the child doesn't have a parent who loves him enough to do the right thing.
Anyone who intentionally causes a child needless harm should die, slowly and painfully. They should never be given a chance to cause pain to another innocent.
That said, why do we post that crap on FR?
Who the devil comes up with these sentencing guidelines ?
This crime deserves a public execution, peferrably by putting the perp in a pot-o-water over a bed of coals and boiling until dead.
Though I'd recommend a slow heat to draw it out longer.
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