Ronnie Paris, self-described tough guy, begged a Florida judge for mercy last Friday in the sentencing phase of his trial for the murder of his 3 year old son.
Mr. Macho Man had been convicted of second-degree murder and aggravated child abuse for the beating death. One might call this more an execution than a murder: Mr. Cool Dude had a history of stuffing this little child into a box and slamming his head against the wall until the baby vomitted and eventually passed out.
The reason for the beatings? Ronnie didn’t want his son to grow up gay.
In his plea for leniency, Ronnie made the preposterous statement that “I never did anything to hurt my baby or abuse my baby in any way.”
I guess in Ronnie’s world, hammering a 3 year old’s head into the wall isn’t “hurt” or “abuse”.
The saddest thing about this case is that the child had been returned to the Paris home by the Florida Department of Children & Families after he’d lived (and evidently thrived) in foster care for over 2 years.
He was killed only 6 weeks later.
Ronnie Paris, age 21, was sentenced to 30 years in prison, a relatively light penalty considering that he could have gotten life.