Homicide Investigations Essay. Summarize the investigation.

Homicide Investigation: State V. Phillips, 2016
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Case Analysis
Donna Lynn Phillips, aged 55, was convicted of homicide by child abuse and sentenced to twenty-five years’ jail term following the death of her grandson, a 21-month-old child. Donna Lynn Phillips and Jamie Edward Morris (father of the child) were convicted in the death of Jaidon Morris who, according to authorities, died of a hydrocodone overdose in 2008. The father was found guilty of aiding and abetting homicide by child abuse and was sentenced to eight-year imprisonment. The prosecution department suggested that Philips and Morris were responsible for the death of the toddler because they gave him lethal doses of cough medicine containing hydrocodone. Also, they failed to seek professional medical attention when the child showed signs of ill-health. Phillips appealed the sentence citing that the State failed to present substantial circumstantial evidence that she acted with extreme indifference to cause the death of her 21-month-old grandson. However, the court declined Phillip’s petition citing the absence of any material fact or principle of law that had been overlooked or disregarded in the previous hearing.
Homicide by Child Abuse occurs when a person “causes the death of a child under the age of 11 while committing child abuse or neglect, and the death occurs under circumstances manifesting an extreme indifference to human life” (Smith, 2003). Also, a person can be charged with homicide if he or she is involved in aiding and abetting another person in abuse or neglect leading to the death of a minor. Both Phillips and Morris were charged with homicide by child abuse since their negligence leads to the death of the child. They caused harm to the child's health by failing to supply the child with adequate health care, thus creating a medical condition that resulted in the child's death. They were accused of administering drugs to the child without seeking medical attention. The wrong prescriptions worsened the child's health condition leading to death.
The child was taken to Baptist Easley Hospital while unresponsive. According to the paramedics, he was cold and neither a breath nor a pulse. His condition was found to be an opiate-induced c...