Nigerian Woman Sentenced To 80 Years in Prison in US

 

 Nigerian/American Jessica Tata has been sentenced to an 80-year prison term after being found guilty of the death of one of four children placed in her care.
Makayla Dickerson, the victim’s sister shows off one of the burns she received on the fateful day

Tata was reported to have gone for purchases at a nearby store, leaving 16-month-old Elias Castillo an three others in her home day care, leaving a pan of cooking oil on a burner which ignited fire when unattended to, killing four children and leaving the remaining three as survivors.

Tata had fled to Nigeria after the fire but was caught after a month, returned to the United States in March 2011 and has been jailed since.

The convict has dual citizenship. Although she was born in the United States, she still maintains her Nigerian citizenship.

Tata will serve 30 years of her sentence before she is eligible for parole.

More disheartening for Tata is the 80-year term isn’t stopping there. She gets more years in prison as a result of three more counts of felony murder for the other children who died. In addition, three more counts for abandoning the children by themselves and and two counts for reckless injury to a child.

Do you think Tata deserves a chance? Not many do. Steve Balsassano, a prosecutor had bluntly said “She was being paid to watch these children. She knew better. It’s nobody’s fault but her own.”