Dad charged with 2nd-degree murder in death of 3-month old son; second dad in the county arrested for infant death this year (Gadsden County, Florida)

Dad BOBBY MATHEW DUKES has been charged with 2nd-degree murder in the death of his 3-month-old son. Dad has admitted to hitting the baby's head against a wooded chair because the baby was crying.

Note that Dukes is the SECOND dad to be arrested for killing an infant in Gadsden County this year. Dad KEARSE RAESHON BRADHAM has been charged with 2nd-degree murder in the death of his 2-month-old daughter back in January. Both dads were unemployed.

And check out the statistics cited by the police: Last year, 39% of the infant deaths (babies under 5 months) in 2007 were caused by fathers. Not boyfriends. Not moms. Not babysitters.

It's nice that the police want to start an "intervention" program for dads. But maybe we need to stop being politically correct and just admit that unemployed, testosterone-fueled young men need to get jobs, and not moonlight as babysitters.

http://www.tallahassee.com/article/20090802/NEWS01/908020316/1010

Man arrested in infant death
By Amanda Nalley • DEMOCRAT STAFF WRITER • August 2, 2009

A Gadsden County man has been arrested on charges that he killed his infant son.

Bobby Mathew Dukes Jr., 20, was arrested Tuesday on charges of second-degree murder, said Lt. Jim Corder of the Gadsden County Sheriff's Office.

According to the arrest report, Dukes admitted to hitting his 3-month-old son's head on a wooden chair next to the baby's bassinet June 17 after becoming frustrated with the baby's crying. However, Dukes later recanted, saying he made up the story.

A family member at Dukes' home on Astor Court in Quincy called 911 on June 17 and reported that the baby was not breathing. Paramedics arrived and found the infant dead, according to court records.

According to an autopsy report, there were "numerous fractures of the ribs that were caused by a hard squeeze, indicating child abuse," as well as a skull fracture from a single forceful blow.

Dukes is the second young father to be arrested this year in Gadsden County on charges involving the death of a child, according to arrest records.

Kearse Raeshon Bradham, 18, was arrested in January on charges of second-degree murder in the death of his two-month-old daughter.

The trend is disturbing to local law-enforcement agencies.

"There were 500 infant deaths in the U.S. in the past year where infants were under the age of 5 months old," Corder said. "Out of those 500, 39 percent of them were killed by their fathers."Corder said the Sheriff's Office is hoping to start an early-intervention program to prevent such deaths.

According to Corder, both fathers were unemployed and had no parental training. Both children were ill, and the mothers of the children were home at the time of the fatal injuries.

"Here is the tragedy — not only do we have two dead babies, but we have two young men whose lives are ultimately ruined," Corder said.

Bradham and Dukes are both being held without bail at Gadsden County Jail. Bradham will have a case-management hearing this week and possibly a criminal trial. Dukes has been appointed a public defender.

Corder said both men could face sentences of life in prison if convicted.