A Black couple was sentenced to 35 years in prison for starving their adopted teen to death.
By Kalyn Womack
The adoptive parents of 15-year-old Karreon Franks have been sentenced on charges in connection to his death. While handing down their punishment, the judge shed tears at how cruel of a punishment Karreon suffered.
“What happened to Karreon is one of the saddest things I have seen in 37 years: a child with special needs in the condition he was in when he died,” said Judge Suzan Clark at the couple’s sentencing Wednesday.
Felicia Adams-Franks, 54 and Jesse Franks, 58, were accused of deliberately mistreating Karreon and his two younger brothers. The teen had a series of conditions including a developmental delay, autism and blindness resulting in him being nonverbal, according to The Columbian. He also struggled to keep food down, leading him to lose weight. However, prosecutors claimed his weight fell exponentially from 115 pounds to just 61 pounds in under a year’s time.
He died on Nov. 27, 2020.
The following year, neighbors suspicious of the Franks household told KOIN 6, when he was alive, the teen mentioned his parents kept food from him and his brothers. During the trial, that horrifying suspicion was confirmed.
In court, one of the surviving brothers reportedly testified that his food was restricted and that he was locked in a room and hit with a paddle and electrical cord. A law firm representing Karreon and his two younger siblings previously said his death could have been prevented.
According to the Davis Law Group, an investigation revealed that an initial complaint had been made in 2017 – nearly three years before Karreon died. Prosecutors say the children were restricted access to food and given physical punishment, but the parents’ attorneys said Karreon had medical conditions that resulted in his death.
The Davis Law Group also alleged that upon the prior complaints about the Franks household, social workers assigned to investigate never spoke to Karreon.
“Instead of making sure to contact the boy and get the boy immediate medical attention, the state sat on its legs and essentially the boy died a week later from starvation,” said attorney Chris Davis, via KOIN’s report.
The Franks were charged with homicide by abuse and second-degree murder in Karreon’s death and an additional two counts of second-degree criminal mistreatment of his younger brothers.
Judge Clark said she’d never returned to her chambers before to see all of the jurors in tears at the horrors they heard – one alternate juror mentioning not being able to sleep, per The Columbian’s report. With that said, she sentenced Jesse Franks to 30 years in prison and Felicia Adams-Frank to 35 years in prison, as she appeared to be running the household.
