GUILTY FL - Lakeland girl, 14, charged with killing newborn son, 19 Sept 2012

[jjenny]

Perhaps, if you believed the stabbing was in self defense.

Self-defense? In what universe?
It amazes me how far people can go to defend this 14 year old.

 

[Linda7NJ]

Self-defense? In what universe?
It amazes me how far people can go to defend this 14 year old.

I only have to go to putting myself in the scared 14 year olds shoes and imagine myself ignorant of my options, alone with no real support.

 

[Seajay]

All I can think of is that she had a total disconnect emotionally from her baby, didn't see it as an entity unto itself.

Emotionally, she was devoid of some very basic instincts. I have no idea whether she talked to her peers about her situation or if the boy involved was aware of the situation, but she obviously had no mature guidance or direction in her life to be able to do such a horrendous thing.

 

[MsFacetious]

I will never understand the contradictions in the laws.

So we are going to charge this 14 year old BOY for getting this 14 year old girl pregnant.
So this 14 year old girl is a victim because she wasn't old enough to consent to MAKING the baby.
BUT, she is a cold blooded murderer, though still 14... when she KILLS the baby, she is charged as an adult.

Someone needs to decide if they want a conviction... is this girl a victim or a perp?

If I was on her murder jury and found out the guy had been charged with getting her pregnant... I would acquit her.

Because if she isn't mature enough to consent to sex, she certainly isn't mature enough to be charged as an adult with murder. :twocents:

 

[flipflop]

I will never understand the contradictions in the laws.

So we are going to charge this 14 year old BOY for getting this 14 year old girl pregnant.
So this 14 year old girl is a victim because she wasn't old enough to consent to MAKING the baby.
BUT, she is a cold blooded murderer, though still 14... when she KILLS the baby, she is charged as an adult.

Someone needs to decide if they want a conviction... is this girl a victim or a perp?

If I was on her murder jury and found out the guy had been charged with getting her pregnant... I would acquit her.

Because if she isn't mature enough to consent to sex, she certainly isn't mature enough to be charged as an adult with murder. :twocents:

Where did you read that they are going to charge the boy? If so, then the girl should be charged too!!! I read that the sex was consentual, so really why charge anyone with underage sex????

 

[MsFacetious]

Where did you read that they are going to charge the boy? If so, then the girl should be charged too!!! I read that the sex was consentual, so really why charge anyone with underage sex????

The Sheriff said that on Nancy Grace.
I remember being like :what: because he had made so much sense up until THAT point. :waitasec:

Charging BOTH kids makes even LESS sense. :banghead:

Girl charged with sex with boy - boy is victim.
Boy charged with sex with girl - girl is victim.

Ask Ogden, Utah how that worked out when they charged 2 kids with sex with each other. :floorlaugh:

How can someone be both a victim and a perp in the same case! :banghead:
(Yes, this is a HUGE pet peeve of mine.)

 

[jjenny]

Someone needs to decide if they want a conviction... is this girl a victim or a perp?

...

Well they could charge her too for "illegal sex" since it appears she voluntarily had sex with a boy her age. So they could add to her charges if they wanted to.

 

[MsFacetious]

Well they could charge her too for "illegal sex" since it appears she voluntarily had sex with a boy her age. So they could add to her charges if they wanted to.

Which is once again saying:
"This girl was too young to consent to sex and so was the guy she had sex with. But she was old enough to commit a murder."

I am not defending this girl. I am just pointing out the inconsistency that would cause me to acquit her if I was on the jury.
They need to completely forget about charging anyone with having sex with anyone and focus on the MURDER. :twocents:

 

[Seajay]

I think it's ridiculous to charge a 14 year old boy for having sex with a 14 year old girl. To me it's a wash. Why waste taxpayer money bringing up charges that make no sense. Neither of them is the victim of the other. The baby is the only victim in this and that's what LE should be focusing on.

 

[Reader]

I posted a link to a new story from the local paper http://www.theledger.com/article/20121115/NEWS/121119539?p=1&tc=pg

There is nothing mentioned about an abortion in the story. If this is going to cause problems I won't post any new stories about this case I see. I'm following this case because I'm concerned about this 14 yr old girl who seemed to be let down by every adult in her life and now she is looking at life in prison. Is there a person reading about this story who would have shrugged your shoulders and said O Well and walked away if this was your child, niece, or neighbor? LE needs to round up all the adults in this child's life that questioned her or her mother that accepted the answer when they told her she was not pregnant. One anonymous call to CPS could have prevented this tragedy.

Thanks for the new link...there is no reason to stop posting on the case that I see and I hope you will continue...

Concerning charges for the 14 year old boy/possible father mentioned in your article, I see none mentioned. He was interviewed by LE and he and C. both admitted having sex multiple times at his home. C at first told him she was pregnant but later denied it to him also. LE did get his DNA for testing.

About her statement of not wanting to 'change' her 'good' relationship with her parents, if the relationship was so good why did she not trust the parents enough to tell them about the pregnancy? She had a chance to tell her mother when her mother had her take the pregnancy tests but instead still lied to her mother and faked the tests. LE has already said they will not be charging the mother.

Here is another link about the video in which C enacted the killing with a Santa doll for LE. When LE asked her how hard she strangled the baby she stated, “Enough for it to stop breathing.”....that shows deliberation to me. This new article also says nothing about the boy or C being charged due to their relationship.

http://abcnews.go.com/blogs/headlin...-admitted-killing-baby-hiding-him-in-shoebox/

 

[Seajay]

About her statement of not wanting to 'change' her 'good' relationship with her parents, if the relationship was so good why did she not trust the parents enough to tell them about the pregnancy? She had a chance to tell her mother when her mother had her take the pregnancy tests but instead still lied to her mother and faked the tests. LE has already said they will not be charging the mother.

RS&BBM: I envisioned the mother being very angry and accusatory in this scenerio. I wonder how easy her mother would have made it for her to tell her she was pregnant. I wonder if the test came with threats, i.e. "I swear if you are pregnant, I'm going to throw you out on the street just like I did your sister" or something like that. So many threats the mother could have made to go with the pregnancy test that would have prohibited the girl from admitting she was pregnant.

Again, I'm not going to make excuses for what C did. Her crime was heinous and brutal. And she appears to know what she was doing when she choked the life out of that baby, but I still have to wonder what exactly it was that kept her from telling her mother she was pregnant when she was asked, why she didn't admit it to the other adults in her life who asked her about it. There has to be something............

 

[Reader]

Cassidy Goodson, Lakeland teen who strangled her newborn, gets 18 months in plea deal

http://www.wtsp.com/news/topstories...teen-who-strangled-her-newborn-gets-18-months

Bartow, Florida -- Eighteen months for murdering her infant son.

That's the sentence Wednesday for the Lakeland teenager who hid her pregnancy and then choked her newborn son to death in September. If she plays her cards right, Cassidy Goodson could be out in time to graduate from High school.

It's a rare case where everyone seemed to be in agreement.

The facts of the case are horrible: a newborn's life taken violently. But had Cassidy been convicted of murder and sent to prison, prosecutors, her defense attorney and ultimately the judge all agreed it would simply have been a second life lost...............

She was arrested for first degree murder, but pleaded guilty to a lesser charge of manslaughter.

With the teenager's family looking on, Judge Donald Jacobsen said he was satisfied that Cassidy -- a student with no criminal past -- was unlikely to pose a threat to anyone else..................

If Cassidy completes her program without incident, she'll appear before the judge again in 18 months. At that time, she could be placed on probation and set free.

However, if she violates the terms of her release, she could be sentenced to up to 15 years in prison as an adult.

More at link......

 

[Reader]

Reaction to Cassidy Goodman sentencing, many outraged over 18 month sentence

http://www.wtsp.com/news/topstories/article/288016/250/Reaction-to-Cassidy-Goodman-sentencing

LAKELAND, Fla. -- There was outrage Wednesday night over the sentencing of a teenager for killing her newborn son. Cassidy Goodson was given 18 months at a juvenile jail.

On the 10 News Facebook page, a majority of viewers seemed to think the sentence should have been longer and harsher.

"Completely unacceptable," wrote one viewer......more with video at link......

 

[Cappuccino]

Cassidy Goodson, Lakeland teen who strangled her newborn, gets 18 months in plea deal

http://www.wtsp.com/news/topstories...teen-who-strangled-her-newborn-gets-18-months

Bartow, Florida -- Eighteen months for murdering her infant son.

That's the sentence Wednesday for the Lakeland teenager who hid her pregnancy and then choked her newborn son to death in September. If she plays her cards right, Cassidy Goodson could be out in time to graduate from High school.

It's a rare case where everyone seemed to be in agreement.

The facts of the case are horrible: a newborn's life taken violently. But had Cassidy been convicted of murder and sent to prison, prosecutors, her defense attorney and ultimately the judge all agreed it would simply have been a second life lost...............

She was arrested for first degree murder, but pleaded guilty to a lesser charge of manslaughter.

With the teenager's family looking on, Judge Donald Jacobsen said he was satisfied that Cassidy -- a student with no criminal past -- was unlikely to pose a threat to anyone else..................

If Cassidy completes her program without incident, she'll appear before the judge again in 18 months. At that time, she could be placed on probation and set free.

However, if she violates the terms of her release, she could be sentenced to up to 15 years in prison as an adult.

More at link......

That sounds about right to me. They've got the balance right between punishment, rehabilitation and deterrent, IMO.

 

[Linda7NJ]

I'm very happy with the outcome.

Curious if there is mandatory family therapy in place as well as court mandated counseling for her.


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[lisalei321]

That sounds about right to me. They've got the balance right between punishment, rehabilitation and deterrent, IMO.

I agree, I wonder if her sentence is a matter of public record?

I also wonder who will get custody of her at the end if her sentence?

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[Linda7NJ]

I hope her family moves far away and she can move forward in her life. Would be horrible for her to have to stay in that community where everyone knows who she is and what she did.


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[Reader]

Court record shows status hearings were held on 11/15 and 12/13 with the plea hearing on 12/19/12:

https://www2.myfloridacounty.com/cc...cqk4qg6MA&q2=68cd722d748701b45cf45caa11905777

Well, I for one am not happy about the sentence...she was treated as a juvenile......I think it should have been longer, at least 5 years and intensive therapy required. I'm sorry I just don't trust her after what she did to her baby and don't think this will be the end of her story. I hope I am wrong and that she has and will learn something...

According to the video she will be in maximum security detention probably in Hillsborough Co.

IMO, a thorough home study should be required prior to releasing her to determine the best placement...She should probably go to residential treatment or foster care until age 18 and not back home to that mother and SF.

 

[Seajay]

18 months?? Wow. I don't know why I thought it would be longer. Must have a lot to do with her being a minor. Thing is, she needs therapy or she's going to be the same way as an adult.

 

[LisaB]

These types of crime are so senseless. A lot of people are more than happy to adopt a baby.
Even if these young women don't know about safe heaven laws, common sense should tell them they could drop a baby in a public place somewhere where the baby can be found.

I think that she was living in a mobile home, and, having successfully hidden the pregnancy, labored alone and stoically (silently anyway) and delivered a 9 pound boy at age 14 (weighing 100 pounds herself) without assistance, she figured ONE CRY from the baby and the game was up. She probably could not have gotten them both cleaned up, and dressed and out of the house without his cries alerting someone to his presence. She was also too young to drive, and apparently the baby-daddy is also a minor. STEALTH being imperative here, I think she didn't know what to do. PERSONALLY, although she denied the pregnancy, I think going to her mom when labor began would have been the wisest thing to do. SHE COULD HAVE DIED HERSELF! No mom is going to lecture her daughter on morality in the face of mortality, and while I am certain there would have been some SERIOUS discussion later, would have helped her deliver the baby, gotten her to a hospital for the delivery, and aided her in placing the child for adoption. UNLESS she felt her mom was likely to expect her to raise the child she had borne, in which case, while I still disagree 100% with her actions, I see why she might have been trying to keep the existence of her child to herself. She may not have realized she was going to murder the baby until after she gave birth and realized she had no idea what else to do. Until then, she may have been trying to convince herself it wasn't real. I believe there was a college-aged couple in the 80s or early 90s that did pretty much the same thing, in spite of being older, more mature, and in a committed relationship. INEXCUSABLE, but not completely beyond comprehension. She was pregnant at 13.