This Mom Gave Kids A Whuppin’ For Breaking Into A House–And Got Arrested Herself (WITH VIDEO)

When a Baton Rouge woman caught her sons breaking into a neighbor’s house, she reacted like any mother would–she felt that she had to teach them a lesson. It’s how she went about it that has her in hot water with Louisiana child welfare authorities and East Baton Rouge sheriff’s deputies. They believe she crossed the line into child abuse.

On Friday, Schaquana Spears noticed her three teenage sons breaking into the home of their next-door neighbor, Lisa Nicholson. They knocked out Nicholson’s back window and stole a hoverboard, socks, and electronic equipment from Nicholson’s son. They didn’t get to enjoy their loot for long, however; Spears immediately ordered the items returned. By the end of the week, the boys were at a juvenile detention center.

However, Spears got a surprise on Tuesday when deputies showed up at her door with a warrant for her arrest. It turned out that her oldest son, a 13-year-old, had told sheriff’s detectives that his mother had whipped him and his brothers with an electrical cord as punishment for the break-in. He had several cuts to his arms and marks across his leg, and some of the wounds were bleeding. His 12-year-old brother had cuts to the arms, while their 10-year-old brother had a scratch on his arm.

Spears was charged with two counts of child cruelty–a move that has been roundly criticized both inside and outside Louisiana. Even the victim, Nicholson, claimed Spears shouldn’t have been arrested. She believed that Spears was trying to save her boys from falling into a life of crime.

“If it was me, I’m gonna beat you before I let the cops kill you. I’m gonna do what I have to do. I’m not gonna let (my children) steal and kill and do all of that. I’m not gonna let them fall victim to the streets.”

Spears was released later that night on $1,000 bond. It should have been $2,500, but a judge took pity on her and reduced the bond. A local bail bondswoman posted the entire bond out of her own pocket, though Spears could have gone home on her own recognizance. The boys are currently staying with their grandmother until Spears can regain custody.

A crew from WBRZ-TV in Baton Rouge was waiting for Spears when she left the jail. Watch here.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rczd_KAz88M

She told WBRZ that she was just trying to keep her kids from becoming “followers” and that “you do not steal people’s stuff, what they work hard for.”

The interview went severely viral, prompting even more criticism of the arrest. State treasurer John Kennedy took to Facebook to support Spears, saying that even with the arrest, “I bet those boys won’t be burglarizing other homes any time soon though.” Former state senator Julie Quinn offered to represent Spears pro bono, saying that the decision to charge her was “absurd.” Kellee Michelle of Your Black World believes the arrest is evidence that “America is jacked up.”

With all due respect, the thing that’s really jacked up is that Spears is being applauded. How can anyone read the descriptions of her sons’ wounds and think this was at all acceptable? Let’s not sugarcoat things. Teenagers breaking into houses need a reality check. But beating your sons until they bleed is so far out of line that it’s not even funny. This is really no different from what Adrian Peterson did to his son two years ago.

Marketa Walters, Louisiana’s Secretary of Children and Family Services, said as much in a statement about “the line between reasonable discipline and child abuse.” Without going into specifics on the case, Walters said that discipline goes too far when children are “cut, burned, bloody, or bruised.” Seen in that light, Nicholson’s suggestion that it’s better to beat your kids for breaking into a house rather than see them killed sends a chill down my spine.

Spears thinks the only alternative would have been to do nothing. Had that happened, she says she would have been branded “unfit.” No, Schaquana. You had an option. You could have made your boys take the stuff back, then drive them to the police station yourself.

Local district attorney Hillar Moore hasn’t decided whether to press charges yet. Given how severe the wounds were, this simply has to be prosecuted. I hope, though, that Spears doesn’t get jail time. However, she’s going to have to prove she can control her anger before she can get her kids back. What happened here was a sign of someone who can’t control her temper–and she needs to show there won’t be a next time for this.