The 25-year-old Maryland woman who was discovered pushing her dead three-year-old son in a playground swing last year after leaving him there for 40 hours will avoid any time in prison or a mental institution under a plea deal accepted Monday.
Under a five-year conditional release order, Romechia Simms must take her medication, see a psychiatrist and meet other various conditions set by a court monitor. Public defender Elizabeth Connell called the agreement to allow Simms to remain free in the community a “progressive way of thinking” and a “testament to the progress of science and society.”
But not everyone sees it that way.
Simms, who suffers from schizophrenia, had been skipping her medication at the time of the boy’s death. And the court order now basically trusts Simms to take her medication regularly.
The fact that Simms decided not to take her medicine — combined with the heinous nature of her crime — had led to calls that she be held responsible, even if it meant confinement in a mental hospital.
Simms had faced up to 45 years in prison if convicted of the original charges. The involuntary manslaughter charge carried a possible prison sentence of up to 10 years.
During the case, the prosecutor detailed some of the gruesome evidence against Simms. According to The Washington Post, the prosecutor described to the court how the toddler’s body was taken from the playground to the medical examiner’s office still in the swing because his body was too stiff to remove, causing a sheriffs deputy to become emotional and audience in the court to audibly gasp.
“Did I mean for any of this to happen? No. It’s just an unfortunate situation,” Simms said of her toddler’s death.
State’s Attorney Tony Covington stressed that he was not happy with the outcome, but did not have enough evidence to refute three psychologists’ findings that she was not criminally responsible.
According to a 14-page report obtained by The Washington Post, psychologist Teresa Grant of the Maryland Office of Forensic Services wrote that although Simms is competent to stand trial, her mental disorder caused her to “lack substantial capacity to appreciate the criminality of her conduct or to conform her behavior to meet the requirements of the law.”
Simms was released from custody in December after her family posted bail. She has been living with her mother and teenage brother.
“As a direct result of her not taking her medicine two days leading up to this episode, [her son] is dead,” Covington said. “Essentially, and I can’t think of any other word to use for it your honor, tortured to death.”
As part of the deal, a Charles County judge found Simms not criminally responsible, multiple media outlets reported. Before her trial began on charges of manslaughter, first-degree child abuse and child neglect resulting in death, Simms entered an Alford plea to a lesser charge of involuntary manslaughter. That means she acknowledged that prosecutors had enough evidence to convict, without admitting guilt.
The Associated Press contributed to this article.
I’m sure she is mentally ill, but the only choice is a metal room or a rubber room. These people can’t be trusted to take medication, even if it works. Public safety is at risk.
People with this type of mental disorder should be sterilized! Thety have NO CLUE how to take care of themselves let alone a baby!!!!
I agree–enough that they can’t, or won’t, take care of themselves–spare any children!!
It occurs to me that she should be sterilized so no other children are had to be put at risk. It would be better for her as well, since she is clearly mentally unstable.
Sterilize the mentally unstable? The lines at the sterilization clinics entrances would be miles long.
i AGREE 100%. Fix her right now or there will be another baby popping out in 9 months. What happens when she refuses to take her medicine? Her family isn’t going to be able to force her to take it. She belongs incarcerated permanently!!!
You’er right !!!.What are they waiting for ? for another crime ?This country is getting so bad, They are letting all the criminal’s out of jail to hurt someone else.
Amen! The judge in this case needs to be removed from the bench immediately if not sooner and should lose her law license forever!
You Should be grateful to that Judge If this woman gets locked up for the next 45 years Guess who pays for that We do as Tax Payers and by killing her baby this woman saves us some welfare money
Yeah, and when she goes off her meds again and decides your white baby is a demon and should die, what will you say then?
You sick S.O.B. Grateful to someone for killing a baby. What kind of fool are you.
Someone would have been happy to adopt and love that little baby.
I agree with you! That is what is wrong with this country. We stopped putting the mentally ill in institutions where their medications and behavior were monitored and we allow them to run wild. If their families can care for them, I see no problem not institutionalizing them, but please sterilize them.
Two days off the meds and a child is dead! WTF!!!!!!!
Unless she is so insane she doesn’t know where she is, she knew full damn well what she was doing. Makes me sick and I could pull the trigger, push the button or whatever when someone abuses anything that can’t defend itself; babies, little kids, old people or animals. Bully somebody on your own level bitch!!!
When the children suffer, just think how much more shall we.
Is this woman not a danger to society? If she again declines to take her medication she could kill another person and still not be criminally liable. It is irresponsible to let such a sick, demented, and dangerous person loose on society.
WHAT IS WRONG WITH THE JUDGE??????????
A typical Obama voter, mentally ill, fat, with an IQ less then an animal, and she walks free to kill again.
I could not say it better.
AMEN I agree with you!
Amen. You can take it to the bank there will be lots more kids.
Anyone who “lack[s] substantial capacity to appreciate the criminality of her conduct or to conform her behavior to meet the requirements of the law.” should be confined to a mental institution, not set free, as they present a danger to the public.
What is wrong with society Today. Everything is so out of line anymore
I did not see 2 things that might have made the judge’s decision appear to have some sense.
1) No requirement to have a medical official, a probation officer or other court official, and/or police verify that her daily dose of prescribed was indeed taken.
2) No requirement that she be rendered incapable of begetting more off-spring or qualifying for adoption or foster parenting.
The corporate press will not allow a judge to find her guilty because he will receive one of their labels “racist” and the attack of the vile corporate press to destroy the judge will begin. Everyday it is becoming more apparent that the press controls most of what happens in our country. They have created a long list of new words which can be used to destroy people and the sheeple have been trained to believe that their words such “racist” or “islamophobe” means that a person needs to be jailed for life. For the truth check the Caravan to Midnight web site.
She needs to be in a mental institution, not out in public, what is wrong with the judge is he black also?
She should be sent to live with the judge full time so he could ensure that she took her pills regularly. I’m sure he would be happy with that arrangement.
I like that comment.
Great suggestion.
Perfect justice! Enforced sterilization anyone? I am shaking my head…what is wrong with people…no common sense anymore.
She will probably have another baby
not if you read my comment on this subject.
Sounds like an OBAMAS type of voter, I got two words for you BRAIN DEAD JUST LIKE OBAMA!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
You first fire the incompetent judge then get a concrete truck and have it back up to this freak and dump a half a yard of concrete in the vital area and poof, no more kids.
Mental or not she should be punished. How horrible of that judge to release her into the
public. Would that judge allow this woman (animal) watch his children or grandchildren? I think not, so why would he allow her to be out where our childrend go to school or play.
Shame on you “your honor”. Maybe you should seek professional health!
You watch and see now how many more case get tried of this same type of ruling. If you pass it for one, you’re going to have to start passing it for all of them. R.I.P. little baby
What happen here is the medication is what caused her to do what she did. She was not in her right mind, any time you are under mind altering medication, the side effects, will cause you to do things you normally would not do. Take a look at the side effects of the medication she was on.
She wasn’t on any medication she had stopped taking it. Don’t blame the medicine. Blame the woman for bad choices not taking her meds
Ok, fine, I’ll stop taking my medications and come over to your house and rob it and beat you up, I’m sure you’ll just look at it as I wasn’t on my medication. Oh, and don’t forget, don’t press any charges on me, because I was under mind altering medication, the side effects, caused me to do things I normally would not do. SMH
While it may be an abuse of her human rights to have her sterilized; I would have expected the judgement extended to include an order ensuring she never again has charge of children.
Some very good comments. We are now living in the law of Sin, and what is sinful will be considered lawful. Satan is revealing himself, his system is now in play. People wake up, and see what his happening to society.
Just execute it and be done with it.
Schizophrenia my hairy backside. This is just liberalism at it’s finest. This judge should be removed from the bench and imprisoned herself (you just know it was a female judge).
The only intelligent public policy is that Schizophrenics and other unstable or aggressive mental cases should be institutionalized, without their consent and without time limits. Make their institutionalization as rich and rewarding as possible, but KEEP THEM OUT OF THE GENERAL PUBLIC! The “progressive” policy of requiring “PROOF that they are a danger to themselves or others” DOES NOT SERVE THEM, THEIR FAMILIES OR THE GENERAL PUBLIC.
I couldn’t have said it any better
What is happening in the judiciary system. I thought somebody has to pay for a horrific crime against children. If the mother is not responsible because she has schizophrenia, then who allowed her to take care of her children. Either the social services are or the physicians or the psychologists and the psychiatrist are culpable and should pay the price. The iorny is that criminals (the social services, and the psychologists) are the ones that convinced the uneducated judge to free the criminals(the same ones with the addition of the mother).
Well, now she’s free to have another one. And most certainly will.
Does not surprise me isn’t this the same place the mayor and Governor let blacks burn and lott an entire city and blame it on the police department.
Well, hum… responsible? These no brain, no morals, no accountability Judges need to be beat to death, set on fire, or have a bullet put in their heads, simply so they can fully experience the torture of the VICTIMS Reality. These do nothing do gooders are parasites of the human race.
I believe she is suffering daily with the loss of that child. As Jesus spoke to his Father, “forgive them for they know NOT what they do” Forgiveness will release your anger and pain.
Deb, shut up with your advice about Jesus. I can assure you this animal does not have an ounce of remorse in her and never will. I am amazed at how so many blacks ( with a name or without) do not react to these type of killings and do not scream ” Black lives matter”. 98 % of black lives killed are killed by blacks and only 2% by police but you never hear ANY reaction for these 98 % killings by black people. They do not want to take any responsibilities for these 98%. No, they prefer to concentrate on the 2% of deaths and make a big deal of it. Mind you, most of the 2% of black people that were killed by police were armed with knives or guns. With the exception of 1 or 2 cases in the whole USA, these black people who were killed by police were criminals !!!! It is time that black people take responsibilities for their actions instead of always finding excuses for their behavior.
WHAT ABOUT A LOBOTOMY
God forbid it were a white woman. Obama’s lacky justice department would be all over her and she’d be doing hard time in solitary confinement.
Absolutely. One of many good reasons Obamas’ selection to the Supreme Court should be vetoed!!!!
This is very common, especially amongst schizophrenics and manic depressant (bipolar) people. They feel fine and decide they are cured and don’t need their medicine anymore. They don’t recognize that the problem still exists, that the medicines are just controlling it. As for Maryland, the courts & prosecutors there seem to be getting lawless, corrupt and more ignorant day by day (Baltimore is a good example). When this happens again with other people with mental problems, and it will, the “forward thinking” liberal psychiatrists (psychologists don’t really count, they can’t prescribe medicines and therefore aren’t qualified to make judgements about things outside their scope of practice), these are who need to be held responsible for future atrocities committed by mental patients who quit taking their med’s. The psychiatrists opinions are what has swayed non-clinical lawyers and judges to stop prosecuting these people. I’m quite positive that child would have loved to have the torture stop & to have the chance to grow up.
All comments so far are right on target. I am sick of PC. I am sick of a tilted liberal justice system where common sense does not prevail. Everyone- vote, vote, vote. This must stop.
It’ll never stop. Politicians, weather city, state or federal don’t give a damn about you. It doesn’t matter what party they’re from. Sucks to be us.
BS on Medication, She should be put down just like any other dangerous mentaly defective animal. If she could do this to her own blood what is she capable of doing to someone else’s chiild. My gosh but liberals NEVER learn anything from they’re prior mistakes.
RON, THAT IS SO TRUE. YOU GOT IT RIGHT ON THE MARK. OBAMA’S JUSTICE DEPARTMENT IS JUST AS GUILTY, IF NOT MORE SO BY RELEASING THIS CRAZY DERRANGED WOMAN BACK INTO SOCIETY. BUT WHAT ELSE CAN WE EXECT FROM THIS HORRENDOUS PRESIDENT. SENDING ALL QUANTIMO DETAINEES TO COLORADO, SO THEY CAN INFILTRATE. THIS WOMAN SHOULD HAVE BEEN SENTENCED FOR SECOND DEGREE MURDER WITH INTENT. WE HAVE NO JUSTICE SYSTEM ANYMORE.
Hang the pig .if she was white she be doing the time , now she’s going to breed like they all do have more kids and kill again
“Let he who has no sin, cast the first stone.” Jesus Christ
So where is the compassion for an innocent child?
Another bleeding heart liberal.
Remove her brain before turning her loose. Will she still be allowed to vote?
Let’s see, 3 psychologists, public defender, Teresa Grant and a judge let a murder walk
free. I wonder if all 6 got to gather and had MULTITUDE OF ORGASMS for their success in setting a KILLER FREE. Next thing when are they getting together to PISS ON THE BABY’S GRAVE. All 6 should be unemployed forever. They are garbage, total 100% garbage.
Total molestation of the law combined w/abuse of power. . using the court room, gavel & robe to push their own redderick!! Welcome to a ‘new’ America ppl!! Totally depraved & blackend soul(s) (Judge & Public Defender). . should be mandated in the State of Maryland that the public defender & judge’s children be cared for by this criminally insane woman!!
After only two days off her meds she is not considered responsible for her actions? I would think it would take longer than that for the meds to leave her body. Now whenever she wants to break the law or hurt someone or kill them all she has to do is stop taking her meds for two days! This is wrong, wrong, WRONG!!! I hope all involved in this decision are fired!
Apparently black lives don’t matter very much. Not when it’s a black doing the killing. Just like sharia, you can kill your own.
Mental Health Professional writing here, folks. In the old days these people were kept in institutions, and they still should be kept there when they are like this woman. The “liberal” ideology that closed institutions in favor of local mental health centers did not work and does not work for these kinds of patients. They will quit their medications and do very bad things like this. I recall a case in Colorado when I worked there. A Denver mother drowned her two children in a bathtub. They kept her in an institution for ten years, let her out, she married and had two children, and drowned them the same way. You could google it up. These people must be kept in institutions.
She should be kept in a mental institution FOREVER or getting rid of. If kept alive she should be forced to have her tubes not tied but cut off. She should NEVER be able to have another child.