10-04-2010, 05:20 PM
her sentencing:
Gage County District Court Judge Paul Korslund sentenced 18-year-old Jayla Hamm to 10 days in jail and 24 months probation Friday morning.
Hamm was convicted of negligent child abuse when she and her boyfriend, Corde Honea, 19, duct taped her 22-month-old son to a wall in January.
As an incentive, Korslund also sentenced Hamm to two separate 15 day jail terms starting on Aug. 15 of 2011 and Aug. 15 of 2012 that can be waived if Hamm meets the probation requirements and continues to show progress as a parent.
The court heard testimony on Friday from KVC healthcare representative Beth Masters, who has worked with Hamm and her son.
Masters said Hamm has participated in family support services and has been allowed supervised visitation with her son.
Masters said that so far, Hamm has complied and been a willing participant.
Hamm’s attorney, Jeff Davis, lobbied for a sentence of probation based on Masters’ testimony and the fact that the pre-sentence investigation report indicated that she had no prior arrests and was a low likelihood to reoffend.
Davis stated that Hamm has completed a drug and alcohol program, received individual counseling and has taken parenting classes.
“A sentence of any jail time I think runs the risk of stopping that progress that’s been made between her and her son,” Davis said. “I think the only person that that punishes is (the child).”
Davis also cited that Hamm has been complying with the requirements of her juvenile case that involves her son, so there’s no reason to believe she won’t comply to the orders of probation.
“If she doesn’t mess up and if she does do everything and is reunited with her son,” Davis said, “and if she’s able to learn the skills that she needs to be a better parent, then something good can have come from this otherwise unfortunate situation.”
Korslund said he was originally planning on probation with a longer jail sentence, but after hearing statements from Masters and Davis, he said he felt it was appropriate to lessen the jail sentence.
Before issuing the sentence, Korslund described the facts of this case as “shocking.”
“What makes it shocking in particular is there’s an expectation that it’s a matter of common sense that a parent would protect her child from humiliation and abuse,” Korslund said. “And why that occurred is something we’re all asking ourselves, including you Miss Hamm.”
Gage County District Court Judge Paul Korslund sentenced 18-year-old Jayla Hamm to 10 days in jail and 24 months probation Friday morning.
Hamm was convicted of negligent child abuse when she and her boyfriend, Corde Honea, 19, duct taped her 22-month-old son to a wall in January.
As an incentive, Korslund also sentenced Hamm to two separate 15 day jail terms starting on Aug. 15 of 2011 and Aug. 15 of 2012 that can be waived if Hamm meets the probation requirements and continues to show progress as a parent.
The court heard testimony on Friday from KVC healthcare representative Beth Masters, who has worked with Hamm and her son.
Masters said Hamm has participated in family support services and has been allowed supervised visitation with her son.
Masters said that so far, Hamm has complied and been a willing participant.
Hamm’s attorney, Jeff Davis, lobbied for a sentence of probation based on Masters’ testimony and the fact that the pre-sentence investigation report indicated that she had no prior arrests and was a low likelihood to reoffend.
Davis stated that Hamm has completed a drug and alcohol program, received individual counseling and has taken parenting classes.
“A sentence of any jail time I think runs the risk of stopping that progress that’s been made between her and her son,” Davis said. “I think the only person that that punishes is (the child).”
Davis also cited that Hamm has been complying with the requirements of her juvenile case that involves her son, so there’s no reason to believe she won’t comply to the orders of probation.
“If she doesn’t mess up and if she does do everything and is reunited with her son,” Davis said, “and if she’s able to learn the skills that she needs to be a better parent, then something good can have come from this otherwise unfortunate situation.”
Korslund said he was originally planning on probation with a longer jail sentence, but after hearing statements from Masters and Davis, he said he felt it was appropriate to lessen the jail sentence.
Before issuing the sentence, Korslund described the facts of this case as “shocking.”
“What makes it shocking in particular is there’s an expectation that it’s a matter of common sense that a parent would protect her child from humiliation and abuse,” Korslund said. “And why that occurred is something we’re all asking ourselves, including you Miss Hamm.”