A white West Virginia couple was recently sentenced to more than 100 years in prison after being found guilty of forcing their five adopted Black children to work on their farm as enslaved people.”
Sentenced late last week, 63-year-old Jeanne Kay Whitefeather was given 215 years in prison, while her husband, 64-year-old Donald Lantz, was given 160 years. Both Whitefeather and Lanz will also need to pay $280,000 in restitution to all five victims.
The couple reportedly adopted the children from a shelter for homeless and vulnerable youths in Minnesota. Per the Associated Press, the children were then moved to Washington state in 2018 and West Virginia in 2023, where they were found by county deputies who arrived at the house to conduct a welfare check.
According to the sheriff’s investigation, two of the children were locked in a shed on the properties. The shed had no running water or a bathroom as the children were starved of both food and proper hygiene. The children had to sleep on concrete floors in the shed. A child was also found in the house in an unsupervised loft before Lantz arrived with the fourth child and led the police officials to the home of a friend, where the fifth child was found.
Both Whitefeather and Lantz were arrested and charged for child neglect, human trafficking and forced labor, with the indictment alleging that they had targeted these children because of their race.
Per CBS News, the children were never let outside to play, according to neighbors, and were only seen in line with Lantz monitoring them and performing difficult chores around the yard. Per the oldest daughter, they were forced to use their hands to dig and were victims of violent language, including racist language.
“You brought these kids to West Virginia, a place as I know as almost heaven and put them in hell,” said Circuit Court Judge MaryClair Akers at the sentencing per NBC News. “The court will now put you in yours. May God have mercy on your souls because this court will not.”
Repost from @atlblackstar
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A white West Virginia couple, have been sentenced to decades in prison for severely abusing their adopted Black children. Jeanne Kay Whitefeather received up to 215 years (including an additional charge of civil rights violations), and Donald Lantz pic.twitter.com/dZg7NmO5Od
Following the sentencing, statements by four of the children were read, conveying that, because of Lantz and Whitefeather, they have difficulty with trusting people, have frequent nightmares and are wary of affection.
The oldest boy is now also in a psychiatric facility, receiving full-time care that Lantz and Whitefeather denied him despite being minutes away from a behavioral health clinic.
The eldest daughter, who is suing the couple for their abuse, was present at the court when the sentences were handed, speaking directly to Whitefeather.
“I’ll never understand how you can sleep at night,” she said, according to CBS News. I want you to know that you are a monster.”
