Jason Strickland pleaded his case in court, repeatedly asking that his 11 year old stepdaughter be kept on life support.
“Without intervention from this court, this child will die,” said John Egan, one of Strickland’s lawyers, in an attempt to get the state to intervene and save the life of Haleigh Poutre.
A juvenile court judge had granted a request from the state Department of Social Services in September to disconnect Haleigh’s ventilator and feeding tube.
Jason Strickland, a 31-year-old auto mechanic, is trying to fight that ruling by arguing he should be designated as the girl’s de facto parent because he lived with her for four years.
But that argument didn’t fly with some of the justices. “That’s not going to do it,” Chief Justice Margaret Marshall said, saying the stepfather has no legal standing in the case.
Stickland had a lot riding on the hopes that the court would decide in his favor, which they didn't. Jason Strickland, the very man fighting for this child's life- is the very one who is accused of putting her in this state. Officials say that Stickland and his wife, Haleigh's adoptive mother and biological aunt, beat her nearly to death with a baseball bat.
Alicia Weiss, a baby sitter for Haleigh, testified at a hearing in Strickland’s criminal case that she saw Holli Strickland kick the girl down the stairs repeatedly and hit her with a baseball bat. She said she also saw Jason Strickland hit the girl twice with an open hand and once with a plastic stick.
Sources:
Details of the abuse, trial
Court Ruling
Categories: abused
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