With the potential for decades behind bars after heinous abuse of their newborn child, Georgia parents were each slapped with a mere fraction of a sentence.
After a six-day trial and five hours of jury deliberation, Pike County, Georgia parents Tarilyn Allie Lester Alexander and Joseph Tyler Alexander were convicted on 12 of 16 counts related to the “horrific abuse” of their eight-week-old son. Despite a potential for 240 years in prison, Griffin Judicial Circuit Superior Court Judge Ben Miller Jr. sentenced each on May 9 to 18 months of incarceration and 15 years probation.
According to a statement from Griffin Judicial Circuit District Attorney Marie Broder, “The investigation showed the victim had suffered horrific abuse on multiple occasions. When confronted with the multiple injuries, the defendants offered no explanation of any trauma, either purposeful or accidental.”
Fox 5 Atlanta reported that evidence submitted in court detailed bruising to the boy’s face and genitals and reports of no fewer than 11 broken bones in addition to hemorrhages in both eyes. While the newborn had spent over a week in the neonatal intensive care unit (NICU) following a diagnosis of Ehlers-Danlos syndrome, expert testimony negated the likelihood of their being any relation to the injuries suffered.
According to the Mayo Clinic, the syndrome “is a group of inherited disorders that affect your connective tissues — primarily your skin, joints and blood vessel walls,” and people with the syndrome, “usually have overly flexible joints and stretch, fragile skin.”
Broder’s statement indicated that “Doctors from Children’s Healthcare of Atlanta diagnosed the victim’s injuries as consistent with non-accidental trauma.”
“The state brought 11 of the victim’s treating doctors and one pediatric nurse practitioner to testify,” she detailed the expert witnesses from hospital systems that included Children’s Healthcare, Emory, Navicent and Piedmont. “All said that there was only one explanation consistent with all of the victim’s injuries and that was abuse. Several doctors who treat patients with hypermobile Ehlers-Danlos syndrome specifically testified that it does not cause injuries like those suffered by the victim.”
“Jurors also heard that the victim has not had one single broken bone since he was removed from the defendants’ care,” the DA indicated.
After the jury convicted the Alexanders of eight counts of aggravated battery and four counts of first-degree cruelty to children, the meager sentence handed down by the judge when compared to what had been under consideration only appeared worse with the fact that, once released, they would have continued rights of contact with their victimized son.
Social media users remained incredulous at the outcome based on the conviction and suggested that even had they received centuries of incarceration, it would not have been enough for the reported “pure unadulterated evil.”
Pure unadulterated evil
— Trish Springer (@Brckhouz1) May 25, 2024
They get to have contact with the child?
— Susan Nesmith (@sbnesmith) May 25, 2024
public hanging would be a better sentence for this trash
— Dani the Georgia Girl (@NewYearsDani) May 25, 2024
Death row
— TSHARPBOOTBOY (@tsharpbootboy) May 25, 2024
Roll out the catapult and fling them at a wall.
— Adam Vistalberry (@FEATHERSandTAR) May 25, 2024
Native of Brooklyn, NY, Kevin Haggerty is a graduate of Hunter College where he studied Cultural Anthropology and Geography. An avid reader and truth seeker, he currently resides in Texas with his wife and their dog and, when he isn't researching current events and their impacts, you'll find him spending time with friends and family or working on his next novel.
- Sen John Kennedy: ‘I would accept the Democrats’ offer to open up everything except ICE at DHS’ - March 23, 2026
- AOC chief-of-staff running to replace Pelosi hits trifecta with big drag queen bash - March 23, 2026
- Death of Loyola student by Biden-era illegal alien is pegged on Trump instead - March 23, 2026
Comment
We have no tolerance for comments containing violence, racism, profanity, vulgarity, doxing, or discourteous behavior. If a comment is spam, instead of replying to it please click the ∨ icon below and to the right of that comment. Thank you for partnering with us to maintain fruitful conversation.