Carlotta Brett-Pierce on Wednesday was convicted of murder in the death of her 4-year-old daughter and now faces life in prison when she is sentenced on June 6.
For the last two years since the news first broke, the country has heard the horrific details of how was found by police in her mother’s home, tied to her bed with a jump rope, beaten, drugged and starved.
She weighed 18 pounds, had 60 adult doses of Claritin and 30 doses of Benadryl in her system, and her stomach contained one kernel of corn, according to the medical examiner.
Jurors deliberated less than an hour before finding Carlotta Brett-Pierce guilty in the death of her child.
However, in this case, the stakes have been raised even higher, as for the first time, in Marchella’s death.
Additionally, recall little Nixzmary Brown – another Bed-Stuy resident – in 2006, also was found dead by police, as a result of neglect and starvation by her mother and while under the watch of ACS. But those workers were not charged.
Although both workers in the Brett-Pierce case have pleaded not guilty, it raises an important question about the degree of accountability that should be shared with ACS, particularly in extreme cases that result in death while a child is under the agency's watch.
What do you think? Should child welfare services workers also be held accountable if a child dies while under their watch?
