KARSYN YOUNG - 10 Months (2010) - Wichita KS

Wednesday, June 1, 2011

Wichita man pleads guilty in baby's death

Wichita — A Wichita man avoided trial on first-degree murder charges by pleading guilty to second-degree reckless murder in the death of a 10-month-old boy.

Shawn Blackburn pleaded guilty in the death of Karsyn Young, his ex-girlfriend's son. He died of blunt-force trauma in March 2010. Blackburn was scheduled to go on trial Monday for first-degree murder.

The 23-three-year-old Blackburn will face a maximum of about 10 years in prison. His sentencing is set for July 15.

The Wichita Eagle reports that at a hearing last summer, prosecutors say Blackburn was the only one with the child around the time he died.

Under the plea agreement, Blackburn agreed the killing was unintentional but reckless.

http://www.ktka.com/news/2011/jun/01/wichita-man-pleads-guilty-babys-death/

Wichita man sentenced to 10 years in prison for baby's death
By Christina Karaoli Taylor
KWCH 12 Eyewitness News
5:11 p.m. CDT, August 5, 2011

Karsyn Young

Shawn Blackburn

(WICHITA, Kan.)—
A Sedgwick County judge gives a Wichita man the maximum in the death of his ex-girlfriend's baby.
Shawn Blackburn pleaded guilty to 2nd degree murder in the death of 10-month-old Karsyn Young. Police said an autopsy showed the baby had been beaten when he was home alone with Blackburn.
The defendant apologized in court Friday afternoon.
The judge also heard from the baby's mother and grandmother. The grandmother requested that Blackburn pay $1 a week for the rest of his life to Parents of Murdered Children. While the judge didn't impose that, he suggested that it's a good idea.
The judge did impose a $4,100 restitution fee to the Crime Victim's Compensation Board. That covers the cost of the baby's funeral.

http://www.kwch.com/news/kwch-ckt-wichita-man-sentenced-to-10-years-in-prison-for-babys-death-20110805,0,4866150.story

At Shawn Blackburn's sentencing Friday, the issue was whether he
would get the maximum sentence for second-degree reckless murder.

The rest of the hearing was about emotion, grief and loss over
the killing of a 10-month-old boy, Karsyn Young. About how Karsyn's
grandmother keeps one of his blankets. About how his mother feels guilty
that she wasn't there to protect him.

Sedgwick County District Court Judge Ben Burgess admonished the
relatives gathered in the courtroom — Blackburn's family and Karsyn's
family. Burgess said that although he realizes that the death of a child
triggers powerful emotions, he would insist on decorum.

The facts:

In March 2010, Karsyn's mother, Stormie Young, left Karsyn in the
care of Blackburn, her ex-boyfriend. Emergency crews found Karsyn
unresponsive and cold to the touch when they answered a call that he was
not breathing at Blackburn's duplex near 13th and Tyler. Authorities said Karsyn suffered fatal
blunt-force injuries, particularly to his abdomen.

After being charged with first-degree murder and felony child
abuse, Blackburn, now 23, pleaded guilty to the lesser charge under an
agreement with prosecutors.

On Friday, Blackburn, standing in handcuffs and chains at a
podium, said he felt "deeply sorry" for what happened and promised not
to do anything like it again.

Karsyn's maternal grandmother, Lynette Schroff, brought to court a
bag of Karsyn's things — a blanket he received not long after he was
born, pajamas he wore a couple nights before he died and one of his toy
trains, which had been placed atop his casket.

"He was a defenseless baby," Schroff told the judge through tears.

At one point, Burgess let Schroff walk up to him so she could show him snapshots of a smiling Karsyn.

As a matter of principle, she said, Blackburn should have to pay
$1 a week for the rest of his life to the group Parents of Murdered
Children. It would be a way to remind Blackburn of the life that he took, she said.

Then Schroff's daughter — Karsyn's mother, Stormie Young — told
the judge about being told by a detective that "Karsyn is no longer with us."

Tearfully, she told of feeling the pain of the realization that "my baby wasn't coming home."

She told of wondering how someone could reach a point where he would hurt a baby so seriously.

She told of feeling guilt every day she wakes up, knowing "I
wasn't there to protect my baby," how she will "grieve over my baby for the rest of my life."

As a result of what happened to Karsyn, Young said, she has lost her other children in a custody battle with the state.

Wayne Root — the fiance of Schroff, Karsyn's grandmother — told
Burgess that even the maximum sentence is "not enough" and should not be
considered justice.

While Karsyn's relatives spoke to the judge, Blackburn remained at the podium with his head bowed.

When it was time to announce the sentence, Burgess said there were no words he could say to soothe the grief.

Prosecutors called for the maximum sentence — 10 years and three
months. Blackburn's attorney, Charlie O'Hara, said his client had never
been in serious trouble before and that it was a "classic case of
reckless second-degree murder."

Burgess explained that under the law there were limits to the
sentence he could impose — a range from 109 months to 123 months, or a
maximum of 10 years and three months. Blackburn will be eligible to
receive a 15 percent reduction in the time he serves if he shows good behavior.

And then the judge announced the sentence: the maximum, 10 years
and three months, followed by three years of supervision after his release from prison.

Also, the judge noted, when Blackburn leaves prison, he will have
to report his address to the Kansas Offender Registry, and because he
is a convicted felon, he won't be able to have a firearm. He will have to pay $4,107 in restitution.

Later, outside the courthouse, Schroff, Karsyn's grandmother, said, "There's no way that this was justice."

Root, her fiance, said, "The penalty does not fit the crime. ...
This was a child's life, and that's it? I have a hard time accepting that."

Schroff said she plans to push for tougher laws for anyone who injures or kills a child.

"Our lives will never be the same," she said.

Read more: http://www.kansas.com/2011/08/06/1963870/maximum-sentence-in-killing-of.html#ixzz1UG8Z0g4R

I like the judges that give the max for POSs.

men need to act like human beings around children! im tired of hearing the stupid excuses. it takes more of a man to just walk away for a couple of minutes that it does for them to beat up on a defenseless child!! they're all P***YS!