Homeless Woman, Tanya Williams, Gets Up To 18 Years For Starving Infant Son

A homeless woman who was found guilty of involuntary manslaughter for starving her infant son was sentenced to nine to 18 years in prison.

Tanya Williams expressed a lot of remorse in court for her son Quasir’s death, which occurred in December 2010. Quasir’s twin almost died, so she was also convicted of aggravated assault. She said that she hopes to see her five surviving children one day.

Tanya Williams’ lawyer Gregory Pagano said that she doesn’t deserve all the blame and that a caseworker saw Quasir just 36 hours before he died. He also mentioned that Williams has an IQ of 65.

“She never intended for this to happen,” he said. “It’s unfortunate that she’s carrying the full brunt of it.”

A caseworker just released Tanya Williams from a voluntary parenting class just before Quasir’s death. She was eventually fired from her job but refused to testify in court.

Executive Director Richard Gitlen said that the baby’s death was a horrible tragedy.

“Through the years we have dedicated ourselves to tens of thousands of children,” he said. “It is that commitment that compels us to learn from this loss so that we may continue to serve children and families.”

In court, Assistant District Attorney Peter Lim said that Williams didn’t take advantage of the help that was offered to her by the caseworker, nurse and shelter worker.

Although Tanya Williams made appointments to take her children to get vaccines and to apply for food stamps, she rarely followed through.

Quasir weighed less when he died than he did when he was born. According to the autopsy report, he died of starvation and dehydration. His twin was also malnourished and treated at the Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia for several days.

Do you think Tanya Williams deserved to be imprisoned for starving her infant son?

[Image via Shuttershock]