A Virginia mother has been sentenced to 3 and a half years in prison and won’t see her son, the one who shot his teacher with a loaded gun, for another 11 years.
The woman’s sentence is more than quadruple the amount of time recommended by the prosecution, emphasizing the gravity of her neglect as a parent.
Deja Taylor’s son shot his teacher when he was 6 years old. He told law enforcement that he took his mother’s 9mm handgun out of her pocketbook from the top of her dresser. He then hid the weapon in his school book bag, only to take it out and put it in his pocket when he got to school.
Upon arriving at Richneck Elementary School, he pulled out the gun and shot his teacher, Abby Zwerner, in front of the entire first-grade class.
The mother entered into a plea deal, admitting to felony child neglect, with the prosecution recommending she be sentenced to six months. In an unexpected decision, the court sentenced her to five years behind bars, suspending three years of the sentence. Taylor, whose lawyers say she suffers from postpartum depression and schizoaffective disorder, will serve two years of incarceration.
This sentence comes a month after Taylor was sentenced to 21 months in federal prison for using marijuana while owning a gun. This charge, which she pleaded guilty to, came after officials found an ounce of cannabis in her bedroom after the school shooting.
She will start her two-year sentence on the state charge of the shooting after she finishes up the 21 months. Sources say even after she gets out, she will not be allowed to see her son until he turns 18 years old.
Her lawyer, James S. Ellenson, said he believes the sentencing was “excessive and harsh,” according to the New York Times. He said his client is “very upset and sad.”
The boy, now 7 years old, shot Abby Zwerner, hitting her left hand and upper chest, shattering bones and puncturing a lung. The shooting was traumatizing to the teacher and the…
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