12 months in the past, we mentioned the controversial case of Michele Carter, an adolescent convicted of homicide after encouraging a good friend to commit suicide. The case raised tough free speech questions. Now there may be one other equally troubling case out of Oklahoma, although the prison prices must be much less controversial. Jaye Dee Watts, 44, (proven right here with an apt shirt studying “Canines: As a result of Folks Suck”) is charged with giving her 72-year-old mom a handgun after berating her and saying “Do with it what you f***ing will, b—h.” Her mom, Lynda Watts, then killed herself.
Watts is charged with felony homicide related to caretaker abuse and kidnapping. Essentially the most critical proof was retrieved from Ring digicam footage from inside the house that allegedly confirmed Jaye Dee Watts berating her mom. She reportedly calls her a toddler and says “take your tablet or choke on it and die.” She can be reportedly heard saying “Oh, I’m elevating a 72-year-old toddler,” she allegedly stated. “I can speak to you nevertheless I f—— wish to.”
At one level, she leaves the bed room and returns with the handgun and reveals her easy methods to take away it from the holster. She then says “Do with it what you f***ing will, b***h.” She additionally retrieved a drill and stated that she was going to lock her within the bed room. Moments later, Lynda fired two photographs killing herself.
It’s a nightmarish account. This isn’t the Carter case. Watts was coping with a mom with proof of dementia and threatened her with being walled into her room.
The kidnapping cost is attention-grabbing, however underneath Oklahoma regulation confinement is contained inside the scope of the crime:
“Each one that, with out lawful authority, forcibly seizes and confines one other, or inveigles or kidnaps one other, for the aim of extorting any cash, property or factor of worth or benefit from the particular person so seized, confined, inveigled or kidnapped, or from another particular person, or in any method threatens both by written instrument, phrase of mouth, message, telegraph, phone, by putting an advert in a newspaper, or by messenger, calls for cash or different factor of worth, shall be responsible of a felony, and upon conviction shall endure loss of life or imprisonment within the State Penitentiary, not lower than ten (10) years.”
That could be a felony, so the loss of life can represent felony homicide.
Watts was capable of submit a $1 million bond and was launched.
Watts might declare a sort of psychological duress, although this would appear to fall in need of an madness protection normal. Since this can be a suicide, she is going to seemingly insist that it was her mom’s resolution and motion. Nevertheless, giving a gun to an aged particular person with dementia after which threatening that particular person would appear a powerful foundation for prosecution.
Even when she is ready to knock down the felony homicide cost, she would nonetheless be going through a powerful aged abuse cost. It’s potential that she might argue that she by no means truly used the drill to imprison her mom (it’s not clear from the studies).
In any case, it appears seemingly that Watt herself will probably be going through confinement for a few years to return.
