A 10-year-old Black child in Mississippi who urinated in public in August was sentenced Tuesday in youth court to three months’ probation, a decision the child’s attorney says was influenced by race.
Quantavious Eason, who is in the third grade, was arrested by Senatobia police Aug. 10 after a police officer saw him relieving himself outside next to his mom’s car when the woman was inside an attorney’s office, according to family attorney Carlos Moore.
Given the circumstances, any child would have done the same thing, Moore said. He noted there was no public restroom at the attorney’s office.
“He did what any reasonable person would do: he urinated next to the car behind the door — not exposing himself to anyone,” Moore said. “He would not have been arrested, prosecuted or sentenced if he was any other color, race, besides Black.”
Moore said he’s baffled that an arrest was made, that prosecutors then pursued the case and that a youth judge this week oversaw a sentence that included probation and requiring Quantavious to write a two-page report about Kobe Bryant.
Quantavious was charged in youth court with being a child in need of supervision, Moore said. The child is required to check in with a probation officer once a month for three months, Moore said.
“We are not going to appeal. He will not have a criminal record, this is probation. And he is a fan of Kobe Bryant, so he doesn’t mind writing the two-page report,” Moore said. “But, still, the principle of it — he should not have to do anything. He should be enjoying his Christmas holiday like the other kids.”
The child’s mother, Latonya Eason, said Wednesday that she’s not sure if her son’s skin color influenced his arrest and the decisions made by prosecutors and a judge in youth court. However, she said, her son has been mistreated every step of the way.
“My son is going through enough getting arrested and then for him having to see a probation officer and then write an essay,…
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