A vegan couple were sentenced to life in jail yesterday for the murder of their malnourished six-week-old son, who weighed just 3½lb (1.6kg) when he died.

Jade Sanders and Lamont Thomas fed the boy, who was named Crown Shakur, a diet largely consisting of soy milk and apple juice, the Atlanta court heard.

The child was born in a bath-tub in the couple’s home and never taken to see a doctor. He was dead when his parents took him to a hospital across the street from their flat on April 25, 2004. He was so emaciated that doctors could count his bones through his skin.

The couple maintained during the trial that they did the best they could for the boy while adhering to their vegan lifestyle, a strict form of vegetarianism that does not allow the consumption or use of any products linked to animals.

“We’re vegetarians,” 31-year-old Thomas said. “We are against animal cruelty, so why would I be cruel to my son? Why would I do something with his body? We are against animals being murdered, why would we be cruel to him and try to do something to his body? The fact that we named him Crown, we were proud of him. We weren’t trying to kill my son.”

But prosecutors convinced the jury that the couple intentionally neglected and underfed the child and then tried to use the lifestyle as a shield for their actions.

“The vegan diet is fine,” Chuck Boring, a prosecutor, told the jury. “These parents lied about what they fed him. He just was not fed enough. They’re not vegans. They’re baby killers. Think about how long they had to listen to his screams and hollers.”

Thomas, the father, hung his head and almost collapsed when he and his wife were convicted on May 2. They were found guilty of malice murder, felony murder, involuntary manslaughter and cruelty to children.

Sanders, 27, told police that she fed the baby organic apple juice and soy milk, supplemented by breast milk. But containers found in their flat clearly stated that soy milk was not to be used as a substitute for baby formula.

Their lawyer, Brandon Lewis, said he believed that they unintentionally starved their child because the apple juice worked as a diuretic and blocked the absorbtion of nutrients from the soy milk. He said they never took their son to a doctor because they feared hospitals were infested with germs.

Only two other similar cases have reached court in the US. A New York jury also convicted a vegan couple of murder, but a Florida jury found another couple guilty only of involuntary manslaughter and unintentional death. In that case, the couple had successfully raised two children as vegans, but their third child died.

Breast is best

— It is possible for children to be raised safely by vegan parents, preferably by breastfeeding before weaning the baby on to a soy-based infant formula

— Much like milk-based formula, soy formula contains supplements designed to compensate for deficiencies in the milk, but it will not help to protect against disease

— Concerns remain about the safety of soy formula, compared with breast or cow’s milk, and parents are urged to seek a doctor’s advice before starting babies on the supplement

Sources: Department of Health, British Nutrition Foundation

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