SUMMERVILLE, SC (WIS) - Two Summerville women fell to the courtroom floor Thursday after being sentenced to life in prison for the 2009 death of a 3-year-old girl.
Shanita Latrice Cunningham and Erica Mae Butts were sentenced Thursday morning for the death of Serenity Richardson. When the verdict was read, Cunningham and Butts both sank to the floor amid emotional outcries by family members and had to be wheeled out of the room.
The two women were charged with homicide by child abuse after prosecutors said they whipped Richardson with a belt in November 2009 for urinating on the floor. EMTs found Richardson unresponsive at a house in the Lakes of Summerville subdivision, and took her to Summerville Medical Center where she was pronounced dead.
Medical staffers saw bruises and cuts all over the child's chest, stomach, legs, arms, feet, back and head.
Attorneys said Butts had been caring for Richardson for about a month, and was a friend of Richardson's mother. "All I ask is that justice be served for her today," Richardson's mother told the judge on Thursday. "That she finally can seriously rest in peace, and then maybe, just maybe I can breathe a breath of fresh air."
Cunningham pleaded guilty to the charge. Butts entered an Alford plea, meaning she does not admit guilt but does acknowledge that a trial would likely end in a guilty verdict.
Copyright 2011 WIS. All rights reserved. WCSC contributed to this report.
Shanita Cunningham (L) and Erica Butts
