When Bradyn Smith was 4 years old, he saw his mother kill his dad.
He said he heard his parents fighting. He saw his father shove his mother. Then, he watched his mother grab a knife, drive it through his father’s chest and toss it into the sink.
His father, Robert Takach, died at the hospital at age 25.
His mother, Shannon Smith, now 29, was convicted of voluntary manslaughter and tampering with evidence in the 2009 slaying. She was sentenced to 10 years in prison.
Shannon Smith appeared Wednesday in court in Warren County, Ohio, to ask for early release. In anticipation, her now 10-year-old son, Bradyn, penned a letter to the judge, asking him to keep his mother behind bars.
He wrote in pencil:
"Dear Judge Peeler: I feel that my mom should stay in prison because I seen her stab my dad clean through the heart with my sister in his arms. Life for me would be 10 times better if mom didn’t kill my dad because that took a big amount of happiness out of mine and my sister’s life".
At Wednesday’s hearing, the judge set Smith’s release date for December 2016, marking seven years of imprisonment, her attorney, Charlie Rittgers, said:
"For three years after her release, she will be on community control, which is similar to probation, and she will be on house arrest the first year".
We’re happy that the decision was made to let her out early. We know it was a difficult decision for everyone involved. Hopefully she can start to mend her relationships and reunite with her children.
"She knew when she did this it would devastate the people who once loved her. She did it to her children. She did it to her family. It’s just not justice. At least we should get the justice that was handed out.
In another five years, Bradyn will be 15; Brooklynn will be 13. They’ll be older and better able to handle the situation. They’re afraid of her, and I don’t want them to have to go through that".
Todd, Bradyn’s grandmother said before the hearing.
Several weeks ago, Todd told Bradyn that his mother was trying to get out of prison.
"When I told him, he wound up crying in my lap for an hour".
Bradyn told Todd that he wanted to talk to the judge. Instead, the court encouraged him to write a letter.
The letter, scribbled on two pages torn from a notebook, is filled with Bradyn’s memories of his father — and mentions of the new memories he would have made if his father “was still here.”
In another five years, Bradyn will be 15; Brooklynn will be 13. They’ll be older and better able to handle the situation. They’re afraid of her, and I don’t want them to have to go through that".
Todd, Bradyn’s grandmother said before the hearing.
Several weeks ago, Todd told Bradyn that his mother was trying to get out of prison.
"When I told him, he wound up crying in my lap for an hour".
Bradyn told Todd that he wanted to talk to the judge. Instead, the court encouraged him to write a letter.
The letter, scribbled on two pages torn from a notebook, is filled with Bradyn’s memories of his father — and mentions of the new memories he would have made if his father “was still here.”
“I think it would be better for me and my sister if my mom would stay in prison,” he wrote in the letter, “because I am afraid of her because I have seen what she did to my dad.”
No comments:
Post a Comment