Summary
A West Virginia couple, Jeanne Kay Whitefeather and Donald Lantz, received prison sentences of 215 and 160 years, respectively, for forcing their five adopted Black children into slave labor.
Authorities discovered the abuse after a welfare check revealed children locked in a shed without water or sanitation.
The couple, charged with human trafficking, child neglect, and forced labor, targeted the children because of their race.
The court ordered them to pay $280,000 in restitution each.
Ten years ago, I would agree. Now we’re seeing the trump administration openly oppose federal judicial rulings and even telling the court they are “not showing respect” to the Executive. We’re seeing Musk say he will back a primary challenger for any elected official that doesn’t follow trump’s orders, with the most recent being musk offering to openly buy votes for $100 in support of his candidate. Any one of these ten year ago would have been unambiguously in violation of law and tradition and dealt with.
There is no “unambiguously lacks any power” anymore.