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19-year-old who shook baby son gets six years By ALBERTO ENRIQUEZ Convicted of first-degree criminal mistreatment and fourth-degree assault in an October baby-shaking trial, 19-year-old Joshua Newell was sentenced Wednesday to six years in custody of the Oregon Youth Authority. In sentencing Newell, Jackson County Judge Rebecca Orf said his severely brain-damaged son now suffered a "death sentence" at the hands of his father, in the form of vastly diminished life expectancy and quality of life. "In my 21 years in the justice system, this is the most tragic case," Orf said, and she imposed the maximum sentence allowed. In a heavy voice, she added that she had searched her mind to find what good, if any, could come from such dire circumstance. She hoped the sentence would send two messages to the public: "Children should not be having children." The defendant was 16 when he shook his baby, and testimony in the trial established that his mother had allowed him to live with his girlfriend when he was 15. "Babies are fragile," Orf added. "They cannot be shaken. If they are shaken, they are at risk of something that has happened to Nathaniel in this case -- permanent brain damage." Orf praised the jurors -- some of whom were present for the sentencing -- for following the law in a difficult case and finding that Newell acted recklessly. Based on a pre-sentencing investigation, Deputy District Attorney John Bondurant recommended the maximum sentence of five years for criminal mistreatment and one year for the assault, to be served consecutively. Defense attorney Robert Stone argued that the sentence was disproportionate because adult sentencing guidelines call for one year for criminal mistreatment. Orf dismissed the argument, saying those guidelines pertain to the penitentiary system, not the Oregon Youth Authority. Orf listed a number of aggravating factors in imposing the maximum sentence: the victim's vulnerability, the permanence of the injury, and the harm being much greater than typically associated with the charges involved. The 2-year-old victim appeared in court for the first time, strapped to a wheelchair stroller. In sharp contrast to his alert baby brother, Tanner, the brain-damaged Nathaniel scarcely kept his head upright, rolled his eyes ceaselessly, made no eye contact and showed no awareness of those around him, even when Bondurant walked over before court, touched his arm and asked, "How you doing, little guy?" Nathaniel cannot talk, but maternal grandparents Steven and Ladonna Shoesmith called for the maximum sentence on his behalf. Stephen Shoesmith wept as he said that he would never be able to take his traumatized grandchild fishing. "Joshua has no respect for people or property -- he has no respect for humans," Shoesmith said. "He's never admitted to doing this even after he was convicted by a jury. He's never expressed regret or apologized." Ladonna Shoesmith also said Newell was remorseless, and that at the hospital, as doctors battled to save the brain-damaged baby, Joshua was overheard to say, "He's been nothing but a pain in the ass since the day he was born." Nathaniel's mother, Jessica Shoesmith, made no statement to the court. After the proceeding, she said, "I don't know about the maximum, but he needs help. He's messed up." In his own barely audible comments to the court, Newell insisted he did feel remorse, but came no closer to admitting his guilt than to say, "I was too young; I made some mistakes." Putting his head down and weeping, he finished by saying, "I just wanted to have a good life for my family, and now everything's messed up." Orf recommended that the Oregon Youth Authority require Newell to complete a GED; take anger management, alternatives to violence, and parenting classes; prohibit unapproved contacts with his child, the child's mother or any child under 10; compel payment of $20,000 in restitution if he is working; and provide for a transition program at the end of his custody. Mail Tribune Copyright � The Mail Tribune 1999, Medford, Oregon USA