Vegans guilty on all counts for malnourishing baby

Yahoo.com ^ | April 5, 2003

[Sweet_Sunflower29]

A jury in Kew Gardens, N.Y. convicted a vegan couple of nearly starving their baby to death with a strict diet that the prosecutor described as "a path to hell."

Joseph and Silva Swinton, both 32, were found guilty in Queens Supreme Court of assault, reckless endangerment and endangering the welfare of a child.

The couple fed their toddler daughter, Ice, a homemade soy bean and herb infant formula that left the little girl with the appearance of a Third World famine victim and the developmental abilities of a newborn. At 15 months, Ice had no teeth and could not sit up, crawl or walk.

The Swintons will face up to 25 years in prison when sentenced at a later date by Judge Richard Buchter.

With their verdict, which came after two days of deliberations, the jury rejected arguments of the Swintons' attorneys, who said the couple wanted only the best for their baby and did not realize the harm the diet was causing her.

The felony assault and reckless endangerment convictions indicate the panel found the couple acted with "depraved indifference," or recklessness "so wanton" that it is equivalent to purposefully starving Ice. If the jury had found the Swintons simply reckless, they could have convicted them on misdemeanor charges that carry no mandatory jail time.

Assistant District Attorney Eric Rosenbaum said the pair treated their daughter "like a gerbil" and called the diet "a grotesque science project." He argued that the couple were well aware that their daughter was sick and showed "willfull blindness" to the problems.

"A 15-month-old child who cannot walk, cannot stand and cannot crawl — that tells you that something is very, very wrong," Rosenbaum told the jury during closing arguments.

All the panelists had experience caring for small children. None are vegetarians.

The girl, who will celebrate her third birthday in July, and her baby brother, Ini, born after the Swintons' arrests, now live with relatives of the couple. (Court papers spell the girl's name Ice, although the parents have spelled it Iice.)

The testimony of Silva Swinton was the three-week trial's dramatic highpoint and may have ultimately proved harmful to her defense. She told jurors that Ice "was thriving" on the vegan diet and suggested that it was hospitalizations and medical care ordered by social services that had made her daughter sick.

[Sweet_Sunflower29]

The couple fed their toddler daughter, Ice, a homemade soy bean and herb infant formula...

In the event that this sentence confuses someone [else] besides me, allow me to clarify--
"Ice" (Iice?) is *not* in fact, a reference to one of the childs' nutritional staples, but rather the poor childs' name.

...the couple wanted only the best for their baby and did not realize the harm the diet was causing her.

I'm constantly amazed when I wonder how individuals this dumb make it to adulthood.

[FourPeas]

It confused me also. I couldn't possibly fathom someone naming their child Ice/Iice. Then again, I can't begin to fathom considering a 15 month-old who can't sit, crawl or stand being normal.

[lilylangtree]

What is a vegan? I read this story and interpreted as "vegan" being person(s) that only eats vegetables and no meat, something like the 60s flower child. After having two babies, wouldn't the mother see that her baby obviously wasn't gaining weight and something serious was wrong with it?

[jimkress]

I'm constantly amazed when I wonder how individuals this dumb make it to adulthood.

Stupidity is probably not the problem, ignorance is.

People do what they are taught. These people were probably indoctrinated by vegans and the vegan agenda in their homes and schools. If you are told your entire life that the vegan lifestyle is 'natural' and 'healthy' then you will seek to propagate that lifestyle, until you have a personal, emotional experience that proves the falsity of the vegan myth.

Unfortunatly, it was the baby who had to suffer the consequences of the indoctrination of her parents to show them how wrong they were. It's too bad that the people who propagate the vegan mythos can't also be punished for their role in this tragedy.

[xJones]

But she was "thriving", according to the mother. No teeth, no abilities a normal 6 month-old should have had? Incredible.

[Mr. Mulliner]

I don't trust anyone to properly raise a child if they can't do a better job of naming their child in the first place.

[PoisedWoman]

Another case of wierd vegetarians starving their kids is in the San Francisco Chronicle today. These people seem more malicious, if you can imagine:

---

Key 'Family' member gets 10 years in prison
Mother of child who starved is sentenced

Peter Fimrite, Chronicle Staff Writer Saturday, April 5, 2003
The tearful mother of a child who died of malnutrition in the Marin County home of the cultlike "Family" -- which subjected their 13 children to beatings, forced fasts and neglect -- was sentenced Friday to 10 years in state prison.

Mary Campbell, 38, was the second member of a pseudo-religious vegetarian sect to be sentenced in Marin County Superior Court for the starvation death of 19-month-old Ndigo Campisi-Nyah-Wright on Nov. 13, 2001.

The self-described patriarch, Winifred Wright, 46, was sentenced to 16 years and eight months in prison last month after an emotional hearing during which a parade of his deformed, malnourished children were shown on videotape.

One 2-year-old could not walk or talk and cried incessantly as he attempted to move across the floor. Doctors said he sometimes pushed his head around on the floor like a wheelbarrow.

But while Wright showed little remorse, describing the death of Ndigo as "the will of God," Campbell burst out in tears Friday as she described how much she regretted her role in the abuse.

"I'm filled with guilt, anger, sadness about what has happened," Campbell said, her voice breaking. "I have caused a lot of pain. . . . I'm trying to understand what has happened."

Wright, Campbell and Deirdre Hart Wilson, 38, all pleaded guilty in December to child endangerment charges for the death of Ndigo and the neglect of 13 other children, all fathered by Wright, who lived in their Marinwood home.

Wilson will be sentenced April 18. Another co-defendant, Carol Bremner, died of leukemia last year. Charges against a fourth suspect, Kali Polk- Matthews, 21, were dropped.

The "Family" lived by a "Book of Rules" that prescribed binding children and whipping them and taping their mouths shut for things like sneaking food or being too noisy.

They lived in extreme isolation, with no formal schooling, in a virtually toyless house with sheets over the windows and loaded weapons lying around. All 13 suffered from the effects of malnutrition, rickets and psychological torture, according to psychologists.

One of the shocking aspects of the case was that Campbell showed no emotion when doctors informed her that Ndigo was dead.

Her lawyer, Public Defender Marta Osterloh, said Friday that Campbell's lack of emotion was a symptom of a person who had suffered years of psychological and physical abuse under Wright, who had stripped her of her free will.

She called the family "a cult," and said Campbell had been brainwashed by "this renaissance psychopath."

"I'm horrified by my behavior," said Campbell, seconding Osterloh's description of her alleged subjugation. "Our family was full of contradictions.

We claimed to be in harmony with the universe, yet we considered everyone outside as evil."

Prosecutor Barry Borden scoffed at the defense argument, pointing out that Campbell herself wrote at least one of the "rules," prescribing forced fasts on children who don't follow orders.

[Leo Carpathian]

It was discovered that "vegan's" brains shrink as a result of lack of protein. Which means that vegetarians are "growing" stupid every day and their actions are proof of that. Normal, meat eating, responsibly drinking, cigar smoking humans retain their health and sanity.

Long live Dr. Atkins! (Saved my life!)

[FourPeas]

I don't know that the vegan lifestyle can be made to blame. Although it's not what I've chosen, I know several vegans who *do* have thriving children. It's a matter of understanding human nutritional needs and accomplishing them under a stricter set of rules.

I wonder, though, how the mother could actually believe her child was thriving. Surely she saw other children her daugher's (?) age or read about normal milestones. She must have thought it odd that she needed to carry a 15 month-old everywhere.

[xeno]

A vegan is a person who eats no animal products whatsoever. That means they eat no eggs, cheese, or any sort of dairy products in addition to not eating animal flesh.

[lilylangtree]

Thanks for the definition. I learned something new.

[RayChuang88]

The sad part about the entire mess is the fact that most vegetarians I know of encourage infants to be breast-fed with mother's milk at least for the first year. It's only once they're weaned off mother's milk then they can eat a properly-supervised vegan diet.

[Illbay]

"Vegan" is to "vegetarian" what "red socialist" is to "liberal Democrat."

"Vegans" are very militant vegetarians, using NOTHING that might in any way, shape or form, directly or indirectly, be derived from the "exploitation" of animals.

[Illbay]

"Save The Children" PING.

[loudzoo]

Some take it to the next step of a "live food" diet. No grains, oils, soy products, etc. Just fruits and vegetables.

I have friends who choose these routes, and by the time they progress this far they swear they can hear the fruits and vegetables calling out to them.

=8-)

[FITZ]

I think strict vegetarians can be healthy but it does take a little intelligence to do it right. I have a feeling these people knew nothing of amino acids and how protein, DNA, and RNA are formed. They probably never heard of "essential amino acids". I know a vegetarian who believes her dog also must be one ---but the dog seems very healthy in spite of it.

[Technogeeb]

I don't know that the vegan lifestyle can be made to blame. Although it's not what I've chosen, I know several vegans who *do* have thriving children. It's a matter of understanding human nutritional needs and accomplishing them under a stricter set of rules.

The problem is that it is not possible to be both a "true" vegan and healthy. The biggest problem comes down to a lack of vitamin B-12, which only occurs in animal products (some vegans falsely insist that it can be found in soy products and some sea vegetables. This is not true, since what is found in these products is a cobalamin analogue which actually prevents the absorbtion of "real" B-12). One of the results of insufficient B-12 is, unfortunately, neural damage (causing mental problems, problems with eyesight, and other issues).

Fortunately, B-12 can be stored for quite a while in the body, so most teens or adults who experiment with veganism only short term (6 months or less) don't see any permanent damage. But for a child, who does not have those stores, the damage can be irreversible. Because of this, the acts of these vegan parents were actually worse than if they had physically abused the child (broken bones, etc. that could ultimately heal).

If you know vegan children that are "thriving", then either they aren't really vegans (eating animal products like cheese, butter, or eggs would probably provide sufficient B-12; it doesn't have to be "meat"), or the children are secretly eating animal products without the knowledge of their parents.

[Hildy]

I have customers at my store who are vegans. They are very nice, intellectual people. They're both Chiropractors and practice homeopathic medicine. They have two children, one is about 5 years old, they other is a baby. When I first saw the baby, he was probably about 6 months old. He had a rash on his face. During the course of getting to know them, they told me that their children are Vegans as well, and the 5 year old didn't seem to miss anything. She let her try some things when she was younger, but the little girl preferred to eat like her parents. Just last week, they returned, baby now about a year old. The rash was all over his face. I asked her if she took him to see a Dr. She told me about all these herb she was putting on his face. I'M NOT SAYING THEY'RE BAD PARENTS, they're not. But I think Vegans are like a religion, and it's hard for them to admit that sometimes, you have to go outside the religion for help. I hope that they get their baby help before he is scarred for life.

[Catspaw]

Max the SOB's out. They're as looney as those whackoids in Maine a few years back--except in that case, at least one of the babies ended up dead.

[Sweet_Sunflower29]

Stupidity is probably not the problem, ignorance is.

I see your point and see that my comment was vague.

What amazed me was the implication of how the parents' were able to observe the child on a daily basis, yet never questioned or raised concern regarding Ices' (Iice??) emotional and physical health along with any developmental milestones not achieved within an acceptable timetable.

This is a vital observation relating to the health of a child, as a substantial delay can often be the first inkling to the parents that the child could be aflicted by a condition(s) which would warrent further investigation.

As a mother, I think it's that I simply can't fathom how ones' upbringing, beliefs or indoctrination could hinder judgment to such a degree that a child would be endangered.

(that said, I still believe though, that there has to be a fairly substantial amount of 'stupid' in those parents...)

/wink