State
of Florida
Office of the State Attorney
16th Judicial Circuit
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Office of the State Attorney 16th Judicial Circuit
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Criminal Justice System Overview Employment Opportunities |
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE JUNE 23, 2006 Negligent Father Burns Baby, Gets Probation The first time Anthony Cash of Key West bathed his six-week-old daughter in September 2004, he left her in a basin of water hot enough to give her 2nd and 3rd-degree burns over about one-third of her body. In critical condition, she was airlifted to the Ryder Trauma Center at Jackson Memorial Hospital in Miami. Candy Cash, now almost 2, has had three skin-graft surgeries for her life-threatening injuries. Doctors say she may need more operations growing up. On May 11, Anthony Cash, 39, pleaded guilty to “neglect of a child with great bodily injury,” a 2nd-degree felony. The maximum sentence for a 2nd-degree felony is 15 years behind bars. Florida sentencing guidelines set the shortest recommended term for Cash’s crime at four years and three months in state prison. Those guidelines take into account Cash’s prior convictions of petit theft and carrying a concealed weapon. Yesterday Circuit Court Judge Mark Jones, in what he characterized as “a rare case” overrode sentencing guidelines and handed down a sentence of ten years probation with no prison time. Florida circuit judges can choose to give sentences that either increase or reduce recommended guidelines when they specify their reasons for doing so. Judge Jones further ordered that Cash have no unsupervised contact with Candy, that he provide $200 per month in child support and that he not live with Candy and her mother, Shronda Loyd, until the court permits him to do so. Cash must also pay court, investigation and supervision costs associated with his case. Some dozen supporters of Cash attending the hearing applauded when Judge Jones read his sentence. On the evening of September 24, 2004, police and paramedics responded to 911 call from a Whitehead Street apartment. There they found the severely burned baby with her father. Little Candy Cash was taken to the Lower Keys Medical Center emergency room while police interviewed her father. According to police reports, Cash’s girlfriend, Shondra Loyd, had gone to buy groceries at Albertson’s Food Center leaving him with instructions to bathe their daughter. Cash said he put the six-week-old in a baby tub in the kitchen sink and ran water for her bath. Then, in what he called “a big mistake,” Cash left his daughter unattended in the tub. Cash’s story changed, the police report said, from his having left “for 10-20 seconds” to going upstairs and “using the bathroom, the iron, folding clothes and looking for baby products.” He later said “he laid his head down, fell asleep and awoke to Candy crying.” At yesterday’s sentencing hearing, several members of Cash’s church testified about his good character. Dr. James W. Holbrook, a forensic psychologist, took the stand for the defense. While he described Cash as being “mildly depressed,” he said his psychological evaluation found “no serious mental illness.” Candy’s mother, Shronda Loyd, 23, testified on Cash’s behalf. She and her daughter moved to her hometown of Dallas after the incident where she now lives with an aunt. Loyd said that she did not believe Cash “hurt their daughter on purpose.” Candy, a lively, sweet-natured toddler attended yesterday’s hearing with her mother. Burn scars were visible below her blue-striped skirt. Cash himself also took the stand in his defense. He described his part in his daughter’s injury as “a terrible mistake.” To Judge Jones he said, “I’m under your mercy, Sir.” Prosecuting the case for the State Attorney’s office, Manny Madruga differentiated crimes of negligence. Some negligent acts carried no significant consequences, he said, but as potential harm increased, so did the criminality of negligent behavior. “The very worst kind, the most criminal kind of neglect is that which causes great bodily harm to the most vulnerable members of our society: little, helpless babies. Candy Cash was one of those babies.” Acknowledging that Candy’s injuries were the result of an accident, Madruga asked the court impose “the very lowest end of the sentencing guidelines” of 51.3 months of Florida state prison. Katy Yates, representative for the circuit court’s guardian ad litem program, supported the prosecution’s request for a prison sentence. But calling this “a rare case in which downward departure is warranted,” Judge Jones declined to send Cash to prison. He cited the “unsophisticated manner” in which the crime was committed and the fact that Cash had “showed remorse” for the “isolated incident” as reasons for the departure sentence. |
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Last modified:
10/23/07
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