Jury gives dad 10 years in prison for 5-month-old son's death (Dallas County, Texas)

We've reported on this story before, which involved a mom who had been convinced (brainwashed) that her INFANT really needed to get to know his father, and that it was okay to let Daddy babysit while she worked. End result: a baby who died from severe head trauma--just one month after Daddy moved in with Mom. Now dad NICHOLAS HARRIS is being sentenced to 10 years in prison. And Mom is getting a lecture from the judge, as well as all those other "young girls" out there. But who is promulgating the idea that young men pumped up on testosterone make great baby caregivers? The fathers rights movement and its 20 years of propaganda, that's who. And a lot of gender neutral feminists who are convinced that all humans are exactly the same. That a 20-year-old gang banger dude is just as good at changing diapers as a 55-year-old grandmother. Nope. Sorry. And though you might come up with the outliers, the exceptions to the rule, the rule still holds: Young men IN GENERAL are not prepared by nature or by nurture for the "frustrations" of infant care.

http://www.dallasnews.com/news/community-news/dallas/headlines/20110217-dallas-county-jury-gives-father-10-years-in-prison-for-5-month-old-sons-death.ece

Dallas County jury gives father 10 years in prison for 5-month-old son’s death
By JENNIFER EMILY
Staff Writer
jemily@dallasnews.com
Published 17 February 2011 11:05 AM


Only one person knows how 5-month-old Trammell Harris died after suffering severe head trauma, internal bleeding, rib fractures and a broken ankle.

That person is his 20-year-old father, Nicholas Harris.

He’s the one who killed Trammell by shaking or striking him. Or both.

A Dallas County jury on Thursday convicted Harris of causing serious bodily injury to the baby. Then, after jurors listened to Harris’ pleas for leniency, they deliberated for just 10 minutes before sending him to prison for 10 years. He will be eligible for parole in five.

Trammell’s mother, Leandra Williams, 22, said after the verdict that she had hoped for at least 30 or 40 years but is OK with a 10-year sentence.

A stiffer sentence “doesn’t bring my son back,” Williams said softly outside the courtroom.

It never came out in court how exactly Harris killed the baby in May 2009. No one knows except Harris, prosecutors told jurors.

Harris changed his story several times, saying Trammell’s injuries were related to everything from an asthma attack to falling while playing on a slide to being accidentally dropped. But doctors said those explanations don’t add up to the trauma Trammell suffered.

“I never got the truth,” Williams said about how her son died. “Part of me still wants to know.”

Still, Williams said she has forgiven Harris for killing their child. She said it wasn’t easy.

Harris’ attorney, Kenneth Weatherspoon, asked the jurors for leniency, saying that although Harris may have been a bad or inexperienced parent, he “wasn’t malicious.”

Harris’ relatives declined to comment after the verdict.

Earlier, in the courtroom, prosecutors Reynie Tinajero and Marci Curry displayed a picture of Trammell on the three large televisions. The baby was lying on his stomach, wearing a white suit, surrounded by plastic Easter eggs.

“He’s watching to make sure justice is done,” Tinajero told jurors. “Look into his eyes and do right by him.”

After later reading the sentence, Judge John Nelms told jurors that he thought it was “appropriate.” He pointed out that the case wasn’t about proving Harris intended to harm or kill Trammell, but instead about Harris knowing his actions were wrong and that he “acted stupidly.”

Nelms told jurors that shaking and hurting babies was a problem among very young parents. Harris was 18 when Trammell died.

Nelms, who mainly presides over child-abuse cases, noted that cases such as Trammell’s death often don’t attract attention, but when they do, “it seldom will attract the notice of 18-, 19- and 20-year-olds. Maybe a few will take notice, but I doubt it.”

Williams echoed Nelms’ words, saying young parents need to be careful about sitters for their babies.

“I want young girls to be more aware,” she said. “You have to be more aware of who you leave your baby with.”

Williams said she thought that leaving her son with his father while she went to work at JC Penney was OK but that she should have known more about him and his family.

Harris moved before Williams knew that she was pregnant and didn’t come back until Trammell was 4 months old. The baby died a month later.