Texas teen who gave pot to toddlers gets 8 years

Watauga teen who gave pot to toddlers gets 8 years | Dallas Morning News | News for Dallas, Texas | Breaking News for Dallas-Fort Worth | Dallas Morning News
A Watauga man who was caught on video laughing as his 2- and 4-year-old nephews smoked marijuana last year pleaded guilty to charges in the case Thursday and was sentenced to eight years in prison, according to the Tarrant County district attorney’s office.

Demetris McCoy, 18, pleaded guilty in two cases of injury to a child causing bodily injury for laughing and poking fun at the boys as they smoked inside a home.

As part of the plea deal, Mr. McCoy agreed to testify against his friend and co-defendant Vanswan Polty, 19, who was also seen on the video.

The shocking tape gained national attention after Fort Worth police recovered it as they executed a search warrant at a home in the 6000 block of Hickoryhill Road in Watauga as part of a burglary investigation. Mr. McCoy and Mr. Polty lived at the home, along with the children and their mother.

Mr. Polty faces two cases of injury to a child causing bodily injury and three burglary charges in a case scheduled to go to trial next month, Mr. Davila said. He remains in the Tarrant County Jail.

I’m sorry, this is going to make me sound really awful, and please, don’t ever think that I would endorse or approve of forcing toddlers to smoke marijuana.

But… could someone please show me the “bodily injury”?

Because there is no toxicity to the marijuana, there is no way that the toddlers were poisoned.  There is no lasting physical or mental damage from occasional light marijuana use.  Yes, certainly, the toddlers were high, but is that a “bodily injury”?  Something that makes them giggle, eat too much, and fall asleep?

I guess under the law it is, but I’m a bit dismayed at the idea that assaulting a child with pot smoke is as serious as assaulting a child with physical violence.

Now we’re putting someone who is barely not a child – an eighteen-year-old – into Felony University, where he will emerge at age 26 (or younger, with parole) with an advanced degree in criminality.

There are no good answers in this case, because I do want to see people punished for irresponsible use of marijuana and I do oppose getting anyone high against their will and I do oppose the use of marijuana by children in all but the most severe medical instances.  But eight years seems too harsh to me.