Custodial dad gets life for beating death of son with mop handle (Anderson, South Carolina)

Dad JAMES DICKERSON, who had "full custody" of his two sons, has been convicted in the murder of his 7-year-old. Dad got "full custody" in 2006, and the mother had been trying to get "joint custody" at the time of her son's beating death.

Note what the judge says at the end of this article. That this was the most "horrendous crime he had ever seen" and that the father "should have never had custody of these boys."

Maybe you need to tell that to the judge(s) and associated GALS , custody evaluators, and others of that ilk who allowed this father to gain custody. A rhetorical lament will result in no change. We need to start holding these people accountable for their incompetence and/or corruption.

http://www.foxcarolina.com/news/22743916/detail.html

Man Gets Life For Beating Son With Mop Handle
James Dickerson Pleads Guilty

POSTED: 3:53 pm EST March 4, 2010
UPDATED: 4:37 pm EST March 4, 2010

ANDERSON, S.C. -- An Anderson County man accused of beating his son to death with a mop handle in 2008 received a life sentence on Friday.

Authorities have said that James Dickerson Jr. beat his 7-year-old son, Jeremy, dozens of times with a mop handle. The father was also originally charged with unlawful conduct toward a child after authorities said he hit his 5-year-old son with the same mop handle.

Investigators said that Jeremy Dickerson had been dead for several hours before his father called paramedics to his Easley home in November 2008. They said the boy's body was covered with bruises.

James Dickerson pleaded guilty to homicide by child abuse during a hearing on Friday.

"The horror which was felt by his little brother as he watched the beating is heartbreaking," said Solicitor Chrissy Adams. "The memories of this incident will be with him forever."

The judge said that this crime was the most horrendous he had ever seen. He said that the entire system failed in this case because James Dickerson should have never had custody of his boys.