Mom on Facebook sentenced in son's drowning death

A northern Colorado woman who was playing a game on Facebook while her 13-month-old baby drowned in a bathtub was sentenced Friday to 10 years in prison.

Shannon Johnson, 34, of Fort Lupton, cried as District Judge Thomas Quammen told her he didn't think she was a bad person or that she killed her son on purpose, the Greeley Tribune reported. But, he added, that doesn't mean her action wasn't criminal.

"You left this little boy in a bathtub so you could entertain yourself on the computer by playing games," Quammen said. "And you left that 13-month-old human being, little Joseph, incredibly for those reasons."

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I don't even know what to say anymore, If I speak my mind right now I will probably get banned. She then left him unsupervised as she went to another room to share videos, check status updates and play Cafe World on Facebook. People are just idiots...period. Her son is gone but she's lucky good ol facebook will always be there to entertain her in the future. What are you're opinions on this?

"Johnson told police she gave the boy a bath every day — sometimes twice a day. She said that on the day Joseph died, the water level might have been higher than usual". Does this mean she did this everyday?

''Johnson told police the boy "wanted to be left alone" and was a very "independent baby."

She should of known better way to young to leave alone in a tub my daughters 3 and I still check on her every few minutes when she's in the tub

20 or so years ago, if the mother ran to tend to something on the stove or quickly vacuumed the rug, this wouldve been labeled a horrible, tragic accident.
Facebook games though? sigh, she was careless and self indulgent but i think that 10 years is way, way to much.

Hell, even people that commit pre-meditated murder get less than that sometimes.

Another Idiot parent doing another stupid thing.
I cant believe the idiot lady said her baby was independent at 13 months
Its a shame the child had to die at the hands of such neglect.

reply to post by Serizawa


Distractions of a modern world.

I guess it is more important to ensure your cyber cafe is running nicely and no major incidents happening, rather than looking after a little person who solely relies on you. Would you ever leave a thirteen month old baby, even if the pan was boiling over on the stove?

Sad, very sad!!

reply to post by Cobaltic1978


Dont get me wrong, Im not condoning her, I was just pointing out how times and actions have changed regarding blame etc..
I have raised two "babies" as a single dad and I wouldve never did anything like that.

There have been people that have stated that the majority of the so called "crib deaths" in the past were actually suffocations. Children used to have very little respect or rights in society and the legal system.
They were basically ignored and crimes against them were just swept away for the most part, especially if parents were involved.

Although I don't feel you should be imprisoned for accidents, this was child negligence that led to the creation of a victim - a dead baby. 10 years seems appropriate, by the time she gets out the Facebook fad will be over. Justice served.

reply to post by Serizawa


Really?
Did she expect a 13 month old kid to give himself a bath?
I've seen some 13 year olds who apparently can't manage that..

reply to post by TriForce




I wasn't having a go at you, and appreciate what you were trying to convey.

I just find it amazing that this lady was in her thirties and not a teenage mum. It really is common sense surely? Peace.

I don't understand why people view facebook as an essential in life, It has become a basic need not only for the youth but for the older generations as well. Friends, family and everyone close to me are in my phone book therefore facebook would be more of a marketing tool. Links can simply be shared via email with less effort. Therefore we come to the conclusion that facebook is mainly used for:

Impressing people and following trends.
Stalking people and gaining personal information.
A social network where you can create an alter ego/split personality.
A marketing tool for recognition and building a brand image.
A site for ranting.
A site for meeting potential dates and flirting.
Then there's the occasional lost friend that you find on facebook

10 years is not enough for that babies life. I'm sure she will not be in prison for 10 years. I don't care what excuses she uses every parent knows you can not leave a child that age alone in the water or even near water unsupervised. There is no way she did not know that. This would be like me taking my baby and putting him in the middle of the highway because he is " independent" and decideded on his own that he didn't want to be in the car any longer and wanted to be left there alone. I know full well that he could be run over but I leave him there alone anyway. He gets run over and my defense is he wanted to do it so it's not my fault he got hit and died. This is absolutely ridiculous. She is selfish and obviously knew what could happen but did not care. I hope she hangs herself.

reply to post by Serizawa


Because people are sheep and need to feel important/part of something, feck look at this place.

Originally posted by Serizawa
I don't understand why people view facebook as an essential in life, It has become a basic need not only for the youth but for the older generations as well. Friends, family and everyone close to me are in my phone book therefore facebook would be more of a marketing tool. Links can simply be shared via email with less effort. Therefore we come to the conclusion that facebook is mainly used for:

Impressing people and following trends.
Stalking people and gaining personal information.
A social network where you can create an alter ego/split personality.
A marketing tool for recognition and building a brand image.
A site for ranting.
A site for meeting potential dates and flirting.
Then there's the occasional lost friend that you find on facebook

Yea dont get me started on Facebook, there is already a HUGE thread on it where I was able to vent the way I felt about that website. You should check it out if you havent already.

reply to post by TriForce


I haven't read it yet, But I'm sure I would have a full three pages of ranting to do on there. What if this idiot actually ends up trying to sue facebook for this? You know how stupid people are, they sue for everything. I heard a story where a burglar sued a woman for damages after he supposedly fell through a glass roof on her house while trying to rob her.

reply to post by Serizawa



You know, If I were the childs Father, I would sue the Mother, Facebook, Mark Zuckerburg personally and the creator of the game she was playing, which I assume was Farmville, just out of principal.

There is a point though and this is true, they intentionally make these games addicting, the more you play it, the more you stay on the page, the more you stay on the page, the more adverts you see.
Hell I would even go after the adverts, just because I hate em

reply to post by Serizawa


bad parent beget bad parents... blame the stupidity of society for encourageing binge drinking over learning to be a good parent.

Its not technologies fault.

reply to post by TriForce


If I were the father I would drowned the mother. She is the only one responsible for this, not facebook or anyone else. If someone else was to take any blame it's this womans mother who knew that her daughter was leaving the child alone in the water and did not report her to childrens services.

reply to post by TriForce


You forgot to mention the PC manufacturer, the internet supplier and Mozilla . Can you send me a link to the thread you spoke about?

It would be interesting to find out if this idiot still has her account and how many friend requests shes received since, As far as I'm concerned business is booming for her in terms of socializing.

reply to post by Serizawa


The thread i mentioned has nothing to do with this woman or this issue. It was just a thread that started out by asking "Is Facebook Dead Yet?" and it kinda snowballed from there to include about 15 pages..

In any case, here is the link
www.abovetopsecret.com...

reply to post by Wertdagf


Me and facebook have a hate/hate relationship, Come to think of it I don't really hate facebook....I just hated everyone that was on my friend list.

The babies death is the mothers fault we all agree on that.