Ex-U.S. Army Major and His Wife Hit With Longer Prison Time in 4th Sentencing in Child Abuse Case

A former U.S. Army major and his wife accused of routinely beating their young foster children and denying them food and water as punishment have been sentenced for a fourth time.

Carolyn Jackson was ordered Monday to serve nearly 12 years in prison, while her husband, John, was sentenced to 9 years. The terms were imposed by U.S. District Judge Susan Wigenton, who was assigned to the case in April after a federal appeals court found U.S. District Judge Katharine Hayden — who had handled the previous three sentencings — failed to follow its directions to consider the children’s multiple injuries “holistically and in the context of the jury’s findings of guilt” in determining causation.

Federal prosecutors had appealed each of the sentences imposed by Hayden, arguing they were too lenient. Noting the repeated sentencings, the appellate panel also concluded that Hayden — who presided over the Jacksons’ 2015 trial — would have “substantial difficulty in putting out of her mind her previously expressed views of the evidence,” so they ordered that the matter be reassigned to another jurist.

Read the source article at AP News