Samantha Woods (Jackson County Sheriff”s Office).
An Alabama woman will spend just one year behind bars after receiving steep punishments for child abuse late last month.
On May 29, Samantha Woods, 23, was convicted on two counts of willful abuse of a child. On June 25, she was sentenced to two sentences of 10 years each, to be served consecutively, the Jackson County District Attorney’s Office announced this week. Almost all of her sentence, however, will be spent under house arrest.
The defendant only made her way onto law enforcement’s radar after a domestic incident led to an investigation, authorities said.
The investigators then determined two 18-month children at a residence in Scottsboro – a small town located roughly 40 miles east of Huntsville – had been abused to the point that they needed medical attention.
While details of the precise torment the victims went through are scarce, attention has focused on their exceedingly young ages.
The prosecution rubbished such talk in comments to the Jackson County Sentinel following Woods’ conviction.
“The (childrens’) age has been talked about like it is a good thing, like it is better to abuse and neglect babies because ‘maybe they won’t remember,” Jackson County Assistant District Attorney Krystina Jackson told the paper. “The truth is we have no idea the damage that has been done. From now on, we will never know… when those children are put to bed at night, if they know in that moment that they are safe and loved or if they will always remember what it is like to be left dirty, alone and in pain.”
While the underlying domestic dispute was between Woods and her partner, it was a neighbor who called police that fateful day.
In court, Jackson County Circuit Judge Brent Benson made hay of that turn of events.
“Thank God for nosey neighbors,” the judge reportedly said. “I am convinced that if it had not been for those neighbors that heard your domestic [incident] and called the police, I don’t know what would have happened to your children. I am convinced your children wouldn’t have gotten help…I don’t know what 18-month-old children remember but maybe one day, they’ll remember that a nosey neighbor may have saved their lives.”
Once the since-condemned woman serves her time in state prison, she will also be subject to five years of supervised probation, the court ruled. She will also have to complete parenting classes.
“This conviction sends a clear message: the abuse of children will not be tolerated in Jackson County,” Jackson County District Attorney Jason Pierce said in comments to The Clarion, another local news source. “Protecting our children is not just a priority, it is a sacred duty. Every child deserves to grow up in a safe and nurturing environment, free from fear and harm.”
