Jade Sanders and Lamont Thomas
27-year-old Jade Sanders and 31-year-old Lamont Thomas were found guilty on the 2nd of May, 2007 of the murder of their infant son.
Their 6-week-old baby, named “Crown Shakur,” died after being fed a vegan diet consisting mostly of apple juice and soy milk. Jade Sanders gave birth to Crown at home, using a water-filled bathtub. Jade Sanders and Lamont Thomas claim that the baby was not taken to the hospital because they believed hospitals were full of germs. During their child’s short life, he didn’t see a doctor until he was dead.
Their claims of feeding the baby an alternative diet might have been slightly more believable had there been more than one bottle in the house.
Crown Shakur weighed only three and a half pounds when he died. He was probably in pain throughout his entire life, as starvation is a long, hard way to die.
According to prosecutors:
The first time he ever saw a doctor was when he was brought dead on arrival to Piedmont Hospital in a state that was clearly beyond malnourishment, but starvation.
Jurors found both parents guilty of malice murder, felony murder, involuntary manslaughter and cruelty to children.
It took about seven hours for the jury to bring back the guilty verdicts..
According to Lamont Thomas, who was very upset that they’d been found guilty:
We didn’t starve my son to death. We didn’t starve my son for weeks and weeks and weeks. You know we’ve been vegetarians. We’re against animal cruelty. So why would I be cruel to my son? We’re against animals being burdened. Why would be cruel and burden him and try to drive around and do something with his body? We’re going to jail for no reason.
Prosecutor Chuck Boring responded:
No matter how many times they want to say, ‘We’re vegans, we’re vegetarians,’ that’s not the issue in this case. The child died because he was not fed. Period.
The couple received an automatic life sentence, during which they will be fed.
Know someone’s history, do a background check: Is he really divorced, or is he lying? Does he have massive debts? Did he really graduate? Find out everything here.
49 Comments »
Jade and lamonti are old roommates of mine. I gaurantee that you will not see either of them in hell! Jade is a miss goody two shoes who does nothing wrong and everything right. I lived with this couple for 3 plus years!!! They are innocent. This girl did no wrong. Actually, I was the risk taking roommate. Everything is not always what it seems. Let me give you a few examples… I have a 12 yr old niece, her mom is the type that gets mad and tells my family that we cant see my niece. Two months went by without seeing my niece. When my family and I finally seen her; Her eyeballs had gotten so big with jet black circles around her eyes. My mother nearly passed out from the sight of my niece’s face. And guess what; no one in her household even noticed, not even her mom. My niece lives with her mom, grandma,grandpa, 3uncles, and 1 aunt. These are all kind people. NO ONE EVEN NOTICED THE SICKLY WAY SHE LOOKED!!!!!! We immediately took her to the hospital and she was diagnosed with HYPER THYROID and has been on medication every since. PEOPLE, some things can be right in your face and you dont notice till its to late!!!!
I was pregnant with my second child when my first one was just 1 yr old. her father was doing 45 days in the pin. I was out of work on disibility because my stomach was so huge and heavy. So my 1 yr old and I didnt leave the house much. Everyday,I made sure my 1yr old was fed and happy. Well guess what, when her father finally returned home, he said oh my gosh!!! She’s so big. (My 1 yr old) Shes to big!!! When it was time for her to see the doctor. The doc agreed with my boyfriend. My 1 yr old was overweight. So guess who didnt notice? ME, her mother. I thought I was being a good mother. I wasnt feeding her any junk food.
Dont cast judgment upon others until you know the full story. Most of all, SWEEP AROUND YOUR OWN FRONT DOOR FIRST. OH, READ YOUR BIBLE, THE ONES WHO ARE HELLBOUND ARE THE ONES WHO DONT LIVE BY THE 10 COMMANDMENTS!!!! DO YOU LIVE BY ALL THE 10 COMMANDMANTS? IF NOT THEN ADD YOUR NAME TO THE “ONES WHO ARE GOING TO HELL LIST”!!!!!!!
No one lives by the ten commandments dear. Just look at the first and second commandments…”You must now have any other gods against my face.”…and yet we have many gods in todays society. Jeeze…we even treat our rock stars and celebrites like mini gods.
And the second commandment tell us, ” You must not make for yourselves a carved image or a form like anything that is in the heavens above or that is on the earth underneith or that is in the waters of the earth.”….yet we have the cross and the virgin Mary ect, etc. These are carved images, yet the Churches of the world still use them, going directly against God commandments.
So i guess that were all going to hell in a hat basket. See, there are some of us that do read our bible. Do you?
Ya see, i dont worship false Gods and i do recognize the Sabbath. I dont murder, i dont commit adultry, i dont steal. I have never given a false wittness, nor coveted my neighbours ass, and i have always shown honour to my parents. So i guess im all good;)
* doing cartwheels* im not going to heeeeeellllll…..
starving your baby to death IS wrong april. you idiot.
i wish i could starve you to show you just how wrong.
April,
contact me almadeusstar at hotmail dot com
i want to help
45 days in the pin? Translation, por favor? Oh yeah, and that was the OLD TESTAMENT, princess ;) Fact Check, aisle one.
April, they did do something wrong. Any parent, especially a mother, knows that in the first 12 months of life, the only food that the child needs is either BREASTMILK OR FORMULA. The soy milk and apple juice has no nutritional benefits for a child in their first year of life. I breastfed and am still breastfeeding my 15 month old daughter but I also have been feeding her food and whole milk since she was 12 months old. My baby girl was born at 37 weeks and 1 day and weighed 5 pounds 5 ounces at birth. I nursed her every 15 minutes! It scared me to death when, at her first doctor appointment 3 days after being born, her weight went down to 4 pounds 8 ounces. AND…I was nursing every 15 minutes; my colostrum wasn’t filling her up so I supplemented with formula until she gained enough weight and could handle breastfeeding alone. I CANNOT forget how she would scream because she was hungry. And, to reiterate, I nursed EVERY 15 minutes! As a mother and a human being, I cannot imagine willingly thinking that apple juice and soy milk is enough. Did she not have any prenatal appointments? Did the doctors not talk to her about feeding her child post-birth? If she’s such a good person, why didn’t she do some research before letting her child die? I feel so sorry for that baby. I may rot in hell for my comments but oh well…
You are ignorant! You can’t tell me they did nothing wrong when they have a baby that’s six weeks old and weighs just over three pounds! Nobody is perfect and nobody “does nothing wrong”. Just because you’re a vegan doesn’t mean that you’re perfect. Why didn’t she breastfeed? Or why didn’t she buy SOY FORMULA for the baby???? You’re an idiot for defending these people!
You sound completely sane.
haha she also spelt commandments incorrectly and two different ways…what does that even have to do with the story…???
Pregnant with another child and one was just a year old and the father was in the “pin”. hahahahha. This girl is funny. Nothing she said seemed to have anything to do with this article. Some people crack me up. hahahah.
I WISH I COULD HELP JADE AND LAMONT, BECAUSE I DO NOT KNOW THEM, BUT I BELIEVE THEY MEANT NO HARM TO CROWN, THEIR BEAUTIFUL LITTLE PRINCE.
I WILL PRAY FOR THEM ALL AND THEIR FAMILY AND FRIENDS THAT BELIEVE IN THEM AND SUPPORT AND LOVE THEM!!!
GOD BLESS
you deserve to be in hell with your vegan friends!
…there is no excuse on earth for neglecting children, YOU BIG LOSER!!!!!! and to Venessa, if there was a God there would be no idiots like you and your friends in this world
Fuck them and fuck you.
Anyone who can read a book or google on their computer can find contradictory information about vegan and vegetarian diets, and usually find something to back up their viewpoints, especially if the are anti-vegan/vegetarians.
Those same kinds of people, if they are the parents of an infant/toddler will find scientific info backing the healthiness of a vegetarian/vegan diet for almost everyone. Everyone except infants and toddlers. That’s because thet’re supposed to be drinking breastmilk during that important growing stage. If someone cannot or won’t breastfeed, there are vegan and vegetarian nutritionally formulated substitutes available. These formulas are also often recommended for babies with colic from either breastmilk or from regular cowmilk based formulas.
Soymilk is not an acceptable replacement for breastmilk for any infant/toddler. It is good for post-toddlers, children, and adults, and is most likely better for them than cow milk (it is not natural to drink ‘milk’ as an adult in any other animals… humans are no different. They do not need human or cow milk after infancy.
Just because it has the word ‘milk’ in it, does not make soymilk a replacement for breastmilk or formula, unless you like sickly or dead babies.
I wish vegans/vegetarians would read up a bit before they ignorantly injure their children with dangerous feeding alternatives. There’s been a few of these cases lately, and as a vegetarian with vegetarian children, it’s just not that hard to research what ANY child needs nutritionally. They seem to be pretty good at whipping up ‘nut-milks’ and at giving their infants things like wheatgrass enemas (BAD IDEA. Not only does wheatgrass cause cramping in many people, enemas flush nutrients as well as toxins out of your bowels. Infants aren’t old enough to have those toxins, and certainly don’t need nutrients flushed out!
Parents, please. What’s the point in trying that hard to be ‘healthy’ if it’s unscientific and kills your children?
c
I have to step in on this one. I brestfed my son till i could no more wich was 4 months (medical reasons) No im not diseased just for the record. But turns out my son is very allergic to cows milk and some other stuff in formula. he was brought up until he was 11 months on soy milk and juice (doctors orders) but trust me he was not starved by 11 months they said he was about 3lbs over weight lol ooops my bad. So they must have done something else IMO but yes they deserve to go to hell. In no way shape or form am I a complete vegan/vegitarian. I do however alternate (again health reason) so for 3-4 months im vegan 3-4 months i can eat meat and let me tell you in the months im not allowed its all i crave. Any way I’m not tryin to call you or anyone else a liar or be the bitch on the page. I just thought this would help. At least I’m hoping it does.
Off the subject again I have been reading posts of yours as well as others tryin to catch up with all of them here and, I think your are a very insightful person. I enjoy your posts as well as a few other peoples on here thanks all who make this site what it is.!!
I’m not saying I don’t believe you, but I find it odd that a doctor would recommend a baby drinking soy milk (not soy formula) and juice exclusively at 4 or 5 months old. I mean, my daughter drinks soy milk but she’s a toddler who is lactose intolerant, and it says right on the box “DO NOT USE AS A SUBSTITUTE FOR INFANT FORMULA.” Soy milk and juice do not provide proper nutrition for infant bodies. So that’s a little weird to me, but regardless, your baby didn’t starve to death.
I’m with Mazzi on this one. I don’t think there was any malice here, I think these two parents were just idiots. They clearly didn’t believe in Western medicine and they had no clue what they were doing, but do they deserve life in prison for being ridiculously inept parents? Nope. Just a good old fashioned sterilization.
The usual substitute is goat milk if there’s a cow milk sensitivity issue, I am not aware of soy milk being a viable substitute for infants.
Glorybug- I totally agree with you!
Wow that is pretty crazy. I couldn’t imagine giving my kids what they gave their baby.
I’m not sure if they deserve hell but they do deserve something. Man, they need to think about what they did to their damn kid and how it was going to affect the poor things health!
I don’t believe that these parents thought they were doing anything wrong. They followed a strict vegan diet and holistic life. I know three children in my life have been on a vegan and holistic lifetstyle since the day they were born and they are all very healthy. Matter of fact the oldest was given a 15% chance of living because of how premature she was at birth. She just turned 8 the past December and you would never know that she was born 5 weeks early. My son was unable to tolerate regular lactose based formula when he was born. I was unable to nurse him due to almost no milk production. I had him on Soy based formula until he was 16 months and then he was switched over to lactose free milk. Now I don’t follow a vegan diet but I don’t feed my child junk food. He was almost 2 before I could start giving him a glass of milk that wasnt watered down. He had an intolerance to milk that made providing for him difficult, but I did what I had to do. No one but those parents know what happened in their home or what caused Crown to lose his life. I don’t feel they maliciously killed their son, but I do wonder how educated they were on how a child should be raised by parents who are vegan.
Always remember this…Only God can cast stones!!!!
Only God can cast stones?
Uh wth? You smoking meth?
Soy based FORMULA is not soy MILK. The former, although not ideal, obviously was meant for the consumption of infant humans. The latter… was not….
vegan is not the same as starvation. the child would not have died had he been fed you morons!
I have to agree. My husband has been a vegan for 25 years, and he’s overweight. I make sure he gets his protein, but the word “starvation” is not in his diet.
We are born omnivores. This precious infant was not getting the nourishment required for growth. Thus, starvation.
A baby that weights 3 lbs would LOOK sick. If they can’t put that together they don’t deserve to be parents OR be free. They killed their innocent child they deserve to be starved until death and see how it feels.
RIP Crown
NO SHIT!
I may be off base here, but I would really want to give these people the benefit of the doubt – to some degree. It would take a lot of background support like confirmation that they are truly vegans, and some testimony that they were otherwise caring parents, but I am not sure that these folks deserve hell or even jail.
Honestly, the home delivery in the bath is what gives me pause. There is this whole new-agey thing that bringing the baby into the world into a water bath is “good for their auras” or some such thing. That “fits” with the vegan, holistic thing.
So the parents sound ignorant for sure, but ignorance is not the same as malice, and I am not sure that it is wise to start punishing the ignorant as if they deliberately harmed someone. One other thing occurred to me – was Jade breastfeeding? Or at least trying to?
I dunno – I hate dead babies, and I despise the people who make them dead – but I am having a hard time hating these parents – I think I am feeling pity.
While i agree that they were probably ignorant of how to properly raise a child and did not mean any harm, surely they noticed something was wrong. I mean, hungy babies cry…a lot. And after a while of starving and screaming i think they’d probably go really quiet and limp from exhaustion. Now mothers have this thing called ‘instinct’ when it comes to their crying babies. Surely at some point the mother must have had that ‘gut feeling’ that something was wrong with her listless, gaunt child.
Why didnt she take it to a hospital BEFORE it died? Too many germs?Even if she had taken it to a natropath she could have gotten dietry advice.
They seem stupid and naieve.
Oh, I totally agree with you Amy, but I guess what I am saying is that there needs to be “malice” in the heart of people in order to justify this kind of severe punishment.
From what I have read, I think they were too stupid to be allowed to have children – God knows what they were thinking, but I just don’t “feel” that they wanted to harm the poor baby. I suspect that the death of the baby is hard enough punishment.
Anyway, I can’t say for sure – I would have had to be sitting in the courtroom to really know for sure if they deserve this, or if they are being scapegoated, but my gut tells me that it could well be the latter.
Anyway, I know that they don’t deserve hell – they deserve to have a tube-tie and a vasectomy, and probably a couple of years of public service time educating others on what happens if you are incredibly stupid parents.
I dunno… A three pound NEWBORN would raise flags and probably require special attention. A three pound 6 week old would be noticeably emaciated, wouldn’t it? That’s TINY! I think these people were worried more about their lifestyle than their child, and if that causes the death of their child, I think they do deserve prison. I will say it’s fucked that there are parents who beat and tortured their children to death on this site that didn’t get life. Crazy.
That was another question I had. Was the baby tiny at birth and failed to grow, or was it relatively normal and shrunk? If it was only 3.5 lb. at birth, then there may have been other serious problems – maybe the mother was malnourished herself. Either way, if the baby was “supposed” to be nursing, I am not sure that such a tiny baby really could do it effectively. So, maybe the mother was nursing and thinking the baby was getting milk, but he really was unable to?
And one more thing – it is entirely possible that the baby DID have other problems. I know an old high school boyfriend of mine had an identical (not fraternal) twin brother, who was handicapped and disabled. He was about 1/2 the size of my BF and had shriveled limbs and his arm did that thing where it was bent up to his chest. Both of them were born as normal babies, but Jerome (the brother) had a disorder that caused him to not be hungry. He almost died as a baby, and was fully disabled by the time they discovered it. When we would take him out he would only eat things that tasted good to him (chocolate, french fries, etc) because he had no hunger. The poor guys face was a mess – like that babysitter chick who was just profiled on PSYIH.
Anyway, I am not defending these parents – I am just saying that this could have been a very defendable case for a good attorney. And, as you pointed out – how the fuck did they get life, when we have goddamned baby rapists getting 20 years?
Part of my frustration probably stems from the fact that there very well may have been something wrong with this baby, but the parents didn’t take him to the doctor when they should have. It’s something I see alot in my line of work- and it’s a sore spot. I am amazed to see parents getting life for this. I wish they would point that sentence at all of these pedos and sadists. It’s insane. I agree with you on the malice thing- it’s hard to know what was going on with these people.
this is a damn shame. two grown ass people. she could have breast fed the baby!!! WTF!!!! stupid, stupid people.
I agree, breast feeding is “natural” and would have placed no burdens on any animals except the human kind. However, let’s hope they aren’t THAT stupid and that her strict vegan diet restricted her breast milk production.
Forced neuter and spay, imo. Unfortunately, not legal, which is a shame.
I have a personal connection to these two people and their family, however I don’t know either of them as close friends. That fact has probably kept my judgement clear.
There are things about this case that have not been published here, such as the beliefs and mindeset of the two, particularly Jade. If anything he was a controlling man with….interesting beliefs, and she easy to manipulate. It goes way past poor diet. It is perfectly possible to raise a vegetarian, even vegan baby healthy and whole. These two are just uninformed morons and I believe their sentence is just if for no other reason than no future children can possibly be under their “care.”
There is absolutely NO excuse for what happened to this child and no one who could allow such a tragedy to occur should walk free.
Lily Evans, I wish you would elaborate. It is like a teaser.
Something recently posted lead me to this story. Said Alanna: “I agree, breast feeding is “natural” and would have placed no burdens on any animals except the human kind. However, let’s hope they aren’t THAT stupid and that her strict vegan diet restricted her breast milk production”
I have to say, I wondered the same thing. Glorybug, can one successfully produce enough milk to breastfeed, or to breastfeed say, a preemie baby, on a strict vegan diet? That said, without googling, I don’t kow the difference between vegan and vegetarian, I never could remember.
Many questions on this case. Still, the jury heard everything we did not, and dealt out a most harsh punishment. (which, like most of you, in regard to pedos and rapists and murders, I simply do not get. The likelihood that they would again procreate and starve another baby was such a great risk to society/said baby, that they should be permanently removed from society- but a baby raper should not? WTF?)
Man, shit like this is just… You can’t even think this shit up.
Vegans use no animal products – no honey, no silk, no milk, etc. And yes, one can produce enough breastmilk on a pure vegan diet – one can produce enough breastmilk to keep a small boatload of other humans alive in the midst of the Gulf of Mexico when one has had nothing to eat herself, after all. A mother’s body will sacrifice its own internal organs to nourish a baby. I
This is a sad story. I do not feel as though any of us have enough information to criticize them like this. For starters, we truly do not know whether or not this was a case of gross neglect or they really thought that they were doing the right thing.
I am a vegan and I must say that veganism, when done correctly, is a very healthy lifestyle. However, veganism can be detrimental to one’s health if practiced incorrectly. Vegans CANNOT simply eat whatever vegan food they get their hands on without doing research. A good vegan diet eats a WIDE VARIETY of fruits and vegetables to get the proper nutrition. They DO NOT simply stop eating animals and animal products.
Also, I know TONS of vegans that have raised healthy breastfed vegan babies. The issue here is did they not do enough research to create/support a healthy vegan lifestyle for their child? … Or did they really just neglect this child because if that’s the case that’s sad.
The baby starved and was not breastfed. You don’t feed a 6 week old baby an “alternative diet”. You give them breastmilk or formula. And you HAVE to be neglecting a child to not notice it weighed THREE POUNDS.
A three pound infant is unbelievably small. It feels like there’s nothing in the blanket when you hold it, just like it’s a warm, empty blanket. It’s not something I’ll ever forget, and it’s certainly not something a parent who is bonded with their child who cares about that child would just not notice.
I remember being thrilled a little over two years ago whn I was told the babies in my womb were over 3lbs each. This is something mothers of multiples dream of, that their babies are big enough to be born. In fact, I know now of two sets of twins that were born at just over 3lbs recently, and they are still in the NICU.
In other words: if you are 3.5lbs at birth, you aren’t going home.
3.5lbs at 6 weeks is just wrong. You don’t have to be a doctor to see that.
I was unable to breastfeed. When my oldest was a baby, I spent a lot of time with a mother who was a vegan and breastfed. Our kids were a few months apart. Her little girl grew at the same rate that my little formula-fed girl grew.
It is possible to raise a baby on no animal products. It just takes work. Work these two were too stupid to do.
(bad mom enters the fray here) I chose not to breastfeed. I tried it, I hated it, I enjoy a glass of wine a few times a week and I like to have a cigarette while I do it, and I didn’t feel that any of my kids were going to benefit from having a cranky mommy forcing her sore boobs on them. It sounds so selfish, but I don’t actually care- my kids are all evidence of the fact that I’m doing a good job anyway. The point I’m trying to make is, even though I knew I was swimming against the stream, I opted for the best alternative and did my research- you know, talking to people, reading books, figuring out what WOULD make my babies grow big and strong and healthy, like any normal, right- minded mother does. These two are just lazy, stupid layabouts who hide behind their belief system.
There is nothing I hate more than breast feeding Nazi’s.
I did opt to breast feed my two boys, but will be honest when I say…I did not enjoy it at all. However, I dragged myself through it, and used the breast pump like a mad woman. Looking back now…I’m glad I did it, and do miss it sometimes.
Having said that….I think children would rather have a happy stress free mom and a bottle, as opposed to a poor woman who feels obligated to breast feed out of fear of being labeled a “bad mom”.
Can’t mom’s just support one another despite the different ways they choose to feed their children ? It’s hard enough being a mom without dealing with the breast feeding Nazi’s.
You breast fed Nazis Maelstrom? Funny, you don’t seem the type.How would you know if a child that young was really committed to Hitler’s philosophy?
Perhaps the child had a specific mustache!
I am very pro-bf. But ain’t mama happy ain’t nobody happy, and I am much more pro-happy than breastfeeding. I was able to support my youngest half-sister when she bf; she and I were the only two in the family who did. It’s best for baby, if you can do it. But again, ain’t mama happy…
Im not a momma and even I know that breastmilk or formula only for babies. I also know 3.5 pounds IS NOT A HEALTHY WEIGHT for babies. These dumb scum (anyone who kills or allows a child/children to die is one) should have brought the baby to a doctor. Plain and simple.
I’m a natural, home-birth supporting, extended nursing mama. This is disgusting……there’s NO WAY a three pound infant would not send up major red flaggage! Did they really think this sweet baby was OK? Come ON.
You know, for the first part of this article I thought it was just sheer ignorance. My little brother could only tolerate soy milk with vitamin supplements and was started on whole foods very early. I thought they were just people who were stupid. And that their child suffered for it…until we got to the part where the child was 3.5 lbs when he died. That is lighter than a miniature dog. That child must have looked like hell when he died. I don’t understand how any parent could not have noticed…and I have a feeling these parents did notice and decided they just couldn’t ‘hurt the animals’ and hoped all would right itself.
[...] As reported earlier, Crown died of malnutrition, weighing an appalling 3.5 pounds. Grown moonbats may be able to subsist on fruit, vegetables, and sanctimony, but subjecting a developing child to such an unnatural diet is criminal abuse, as Presiding Justice George Carley wisely ruled. The parents, via People You’ll See in Hell. [...]
Any of you people standing up for this couple need to be slapped back into reality! These “parents” knew something was wrong with their baby. A 3lb, 6-week old baby. That baby would look and act very sickly. They knew. They chose to not give this child adequate care. This article makes me so mad. If I met this woman, I would have to punch her right her mouth. They should be starved to death, and feel the pain that their little helpless baby felt! WTF!?!