Joseph and Sonya Smith Get Life Plus 30 for Beating Their Son to Death
UPDATE: Joseph and Sonya Smith of Marietta, Ga., were sentenced to life plus 30 years in prison in the beating death of their eight-year-old son, Josef. Josef died after he was locked in a wooden and wicker box.
Joseph admitted to hitting his son, and justified it saying that his son had behavioral issues. He also claimed that he son was “Legion, soldier of the devil.” Evidence showed that he was beat with glue sticks. Josef was also locked in a closet and forced to pray to Jesus.
When the superior court judge read the couple their sentence, he told them that what they did should be punishable to the fullest extent of the law - a life sentence plus additional time.
The Smiths are members of the Remnant Fellowship Church. Former Remnant members say the the church supported the use of corporal punishment as a way to discipline children. However, police testified that they could not find any link between the boy’s death and the church.
Ever get the feeling that the Smiths used their church’s teachings as a justification to beat the crap out of their boy? I’m sure they’ll find lots of time in prison to pray about what they did to Josef.
Tags: beating, child-abuse, glue-stick, Josef-Smith, Joseph-Smith, life-sentence, Marietta-Georgia, Tonya-SmithRelated Stories
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16 opinions for Joseph and Sonya Smith Get Life Plus 30 for Beating Their Son to Death
Jean-Luc Picard
Apr 1, 2007 at 4:50 am
That’s a case I haven’t come across before.
CharmingDriver
Apr 1, 2007 at 6:23 am
Am I missing something new in the world of craft-type things that there exists a glue stick big enough to wield as a weapon? The hell were these people doing to that child?
Lulabelle
Apr 1, 2007 at 6:35 am
Glue sticks for craft glue guns are about 1 foot long and come in various diameters to fit different guns.
Ihavekidstoo
Apr 1, 2007 at 8:50 am
Their church encouraged them to do it? Did they miss the part in the New Testament where Jesus says whoever harms a child would be better off if he had a millstone chained around his neck and thrown into the sea? Seems pretty clear to me what He’s saying: “Harm one of my little ones and suffer damnation.” Guess these two had a different interpretation.
Bridget
Apr 1, 2007 at 9:02 am
Organized religion can be a beautiful thing that brings communities together and gives people hope in times of crises and joy in times of plenty. But there are monsters everywhere that can twist beautiful teachings into ANYTHING and make it all ugly.That poor little child is with God now but I have my doubts whether these vile people will ever catch a glimpse of Jesus in person.
alalee
Apr 1, 2007 at 12:41 pm
Yes Bridget, lots of people who can twist ANYTHING beautiful into some ugly: Look at all the parents on here who have twisted childhood into a nightmare.
Tantalus
Apr 1, 2007 at 2:20 pm
Life plus 30? Sounds like a long time. But I wonder how much time they will really serve?
James
Apr 1, 2007 at 9:00 pm
Other articles on the subject have mentioned the website http://www.thesmithsareinnocent.com/, which has a very different story. I’m not sure if the truth lies somewhere in the middle, but it’s not entirely unreasonable.
Robot B9
Apr 2, 2007 at 3:15 am
Seems like with such a serious medical problem they should have been getting him to doctors! This had been going on for how long and all they claim to have been doing was over the counter medications? That does not compute.
Robot B9
Apr 2, 2007 at 6:36 am
On this link:
http://www.ajc.com/metro/content/metro/cobb/stories/2007/03/28/0328metparents.html
Says they are Eligible for parole in 14 years!
Life + 30 = 14? What kind of math is that??!!!
alalee
Apr 2, 2007 at 10:55 am
Yeah, I gotta wonder what kind of math that is, too. Life plus 30 to run CONSECUTIVELY, not concurrently, no less.
This is exactly why this kind of thing continues to happen all over this country - people know there is no REAL punishment and know their children have really no value in the eyes of “the system.”
Nikki
Apr 3, 2007 at 5:21 am
They watched the exorcism of emily rose. The demon that possessed her was legion. which means many. The bible says when one among you is afflicted call for the elders of the church!If they thought their child was spiritually afflicted the should’ve called for the elders. They believed the scripture spare the rod. Which people misinterpret as a physical rod. The rod is bounderies and rules and not letting them run wild. GUIDANCE! Boy oh boy there’s a special hot hot place for these two! More scriptures they should look into though shall not kill! Lean not to your own understanding but trust the Lord with all thine heart! People kill me trying to hide behind God! If you believe ONE scripture you must believe them all! The bible is not a smorasborg (I know I spelled it wrong) to pick what you like and leave the rest. But I must digress Judge not lest ye be judged. (smile at own self!)
Nikki
Apr 3, 2007 at 6:22 am
WOW I WENT ON THEIR WEB SITE. I have to agree with James. Their explination is NOT unreasonable one. I work in the medical field and have seen MD’s D.O.’s ARNP’s and P.A.’s jump to conclusions.
I just don’t know! Where are the other boys? I hope they are not in state custody. That could be more horrific thann what some kids endure at home. This case is sad. In the end God knows the truth. If they are innocent He will work it out, and If they are guilty he will judge them. I just feel sorry for everyone involved including the jury that had to see horrible photos. Where did the information about a box come from? I did not see any mention of it on any other links? Just wondering. Again I say to myself “Self, Judge not lest ye be judged”
lawyermama
Apr 3, 2007 at 8:32 am
I went to the website, and I found it unnecessarily self-serving. Come on. “Big Jo humbly asked to ride in the ambulance”. Like my name says, I actually am a lawyer, and a criminal defense attorney, at that. The defense got a look at all the evidence beforehand. Their explanation is not unreasonable, but I think that website is probably leaving a couple things out in its quest to make the parents look good.
And as a mama, believe me, when a kid is sick and burning up with fever, you know it.
Nikki
Apr 4, 2007 at 9:31 am
lawyermom, the use of “humbly” is weird. I thought about that. My daughter who is now 17 broke her leg at school when she was 13. I was 30 miles away at work. My husband, mom and I arrived within 5 minutes of each other. My baby(don’t tell her she is still mama’s baby) was laying there crying in pain! I said we need to medicate her, the nurse replied we have to wait for consent! I was FROM WHO? I’m the mom he’s the dad you have granny here who else do ya need consent from? So again I said GET HER SOMETHING NOW! that was as humble as I was going to be. That was over a broken leg! If my baby was in a life threatening situation I am NOT asking a dang thing HUMBLY! I am stating a fact….”Hey I’M GETTING BACK HERE WITH MY CHILD” “LET’S ROLL” and most of us do recognize a fever by looking at them. My kids are lighter skinned african-american children. My darkest child is Joseph Jr. complexion. If they were burning up I could look at them from across the and see the rosy cheeks and the glassy eyes. But hey I’m a pretty good mom. I still say their version is a different side to what I’ve read in the media. So who knows? God the Father knows and he will send the judgement. I don’t know.
rockdoll_71
Dec 3, 2007 at 3:10 am
Amazing how people use religion to justify the horrible things that they do, and in this case to their own son! Sickening is what it is!
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