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Published On: Thu, Oct 4th, 2012

Cassidy Goodson, teen baby killer, indicted as adult, Mom stills claims she didn’t know

Fourteen-year-old Cassidy Goodson, who authorities say secretly gave birth to a son and then strangled the newborn, will be prosecuted as an adult.

Thursday afternoon, a grand jury indicted the Lakeland girl on two charges: first-degree murder and aggravated child abuse.

Goodson was arrested last week after deputies say she gave birth on September 19 to a 9 1/2 pound boy inside a bathroom then strangled him to death.

“Baby Goodson,” is how the court describes the child.

In Florida, the maximum penalty for first-degree murder is usually a mandatory life sentence or the death penalty, but Goodson is too young to face the death penalty.

In addition, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled earlier this year that it was unconstitutional for juveniles convicted of murder to receive mandatory life imprisonment without parole. The decision specifically addressed “mandatory” life sentences for juveniles but doesn’t appear to rule out such punishment on a case-by-case basis.

Additionally, Cassidy’s mother, Teresa, spoke to some Florida media about her daughter and attempting to explain how/why she didn’t know her daughter was pregnant.

“I know she had a period every month and she did not gain a lot of weight,” Teresa Goodson said.

“She was a great child,” she added, describing the daughter’s participation in a summer softball league.

Goodson claims she had talked to her daughter about sex, but didn’t think her daughter was sexually active adding that knew her daughter menstruated because “I washed out her clothes every week.”

Lastly on “how her daughter could murder the child” she said: “She’s a 14-year-old kid and she has a child’s mind.”

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About the Author

- Writer and Co-Founder of The Global Dispatch, Brandon has been covering news, offering commentary for years, beginning professionally in 2003 on Crazed Fanboy before expanding into other blogs and sites. Appearing on several radio shows, Brandon has hosted Dispatch Radio, written his first novel (The Rise of the Templar) and completed the three years Global University program in Ministerial Studies to be a pastor. To Contact Brandon email [email protected] ATTN: BRANDON

Displaying 8 Comments
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  1. Cassidy Goodson to be set free in 2014 after serving manslaughter sentence for killing her baby - The Global Dispatch says:

    […] mother Teresa Goodson claims she had no idea that her daughter was pregnant or had given birth at all. Teresa stumbled upon the shoebox that her […]

  2. Hey says:

    He had a good point though..

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  4. Liza Minelli says:

    I read it all. The whole story is sad. Its a shame she had done this, it didnt have to be this way. Why did she think that murder was the only way out? So Sad.

  5. Andrew Woodruff says:

    People may say, “if she was old enough to have sex, she was old enough to know better”. This is callous nonsense. In fact, by law, she was no old enough to have sex. Anybody who had sex with her would be subject to presecution for at least statutory rape. Just because she was physically capable of having sex, and convceiving of a baby, does not mean she has the mental faculties, nor the presence of mind to have made a premeditated decision. Frankly, I think 2nd degree murder charge would be applicable, as we can not know her intent prior to delivering the baby. Moreover, what does it say about our society that in all respects she has only the rights of a child, but when she makes a most terrible decision, that she must face the full weight of the law as though she were a competent adult, and potentially face 60 or 70 years in prison. Although many demand no less than an eye for an eye, and charging minors as if they were adults is popular, the fact remains she is just a child. She is a child that made a terrible decision, and it bears consideration that she should be treated like a child, and ultimately have the opportunity to atone for her crime, rather than be incarcerated for all the years of her life to come. This story is sad enough already. Rather than styling this young girl as a monster, she should be pitied and shown the error of her ways–such that when she does come of age, she can be a better person. To throw her away at such a tender age for this aweful decision made in the painful moments of this hasty delivery made at home, speaks as much or more to our collective desire for blood and revenge rather than the pursuit of justice mitigated by the compassion of a child who has made a terrible choice and has been caught up in a system that increasingly shows no mercy. True, some will say she showed no mercy to her baby, but she is just a child, and it should be for us to educate our children, and raise them so as not to become monsters, and similarly not to forsake them when they have made bad decisions before they have come of age to be able to make good judgments. And again, to those who would focus solely on her having had sex, I will say again, she was not OLD ENOUGH TO HAVE SEX, but being that she did, and her body conceived a child, does not mean that she was intellectually, psychologically, financially, or in any way ready to bring a baby into this world, and these are all things that should be taken into consideration when we rush to judge children as adults simply because of the nature of the crime. As heinous as it is, it should be not forgotten, this girl is a child, just a little 5 foot 3 inch kid that is at the mercy of our society. And so begs the question, are we a society that will give a kid a 2nd chance after a period of atonement, or have we devolved into a society without mercy, that condemns its children when they commit acts are most disdainful to a civilized society?

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