BY DAN HORN
The Cincinnati Enquirer
Even as a judge prepared to send her to prison Monday, Karsha Radford insisted her 9-month-old son died quietly in his crib of natural causes.
The judge, however, said the evidence told a very different story.
"You're ignoring the facts," said Judge Ann Marie Tracey of Hamilton County Common Pleas Court. "Your son had his head bashed in."
As Ms. Radford stood before her sobbing, Judge Tracey told her she had shown no remorse for her actions and no concern for her dead son. The judge then sentenced her to seven years in prison.
Prosecutors say Ms. Radford struck the child in November 1996, causing fatal head injuries.
Although the death initially was thought to be the result of crib death - sudden infant death syndrome - a coroner's exam concluded the child had died from a blow to the head.
Ms. Radford, 23, said she found her son, Daiquan, dead in his crib. She said she never harmed him.
"I am innocent," she told the judge. "I love my children with all my heart. I'd never abuse my children. I miss my son."
Prosecutors said Ms. Radford waited at least 45 minutes before calling an ambulance for her son, leaving him to suffer alone in his crib with painful injuries.
Ms. Radford's attorney, Dave Otto, suggested that his client was "foolish enough to talk to police" because of her below-average intelligence. He said the statement she gave police was later used against her.
A jury convicted her earlier this month of child endangering and involuntary manslaughter.
Mr. Otto asked the judge for mercy. "Karsha Radford has had a hard life," he said.
The judge, however, scolded Ms. Radford for failing to admit her crime. "For whatever reason, you will not come to grips with your responsibility in this offense."
