At the age of 4 months old, B.N. entered the foster care system. During B.N.'s first few months in the system, she bounced in and out of different homes, as is typical in the foster care system. In January of 2020, she was sent to the home of her future abusers J.M.M. and A.E.M.; however, this stay was brief; lasting only 7 days. In May of 2020, B.N. would be placed in the home of J.M.M. and A.E.M. on a more permanent basis. During this stay, J.M.M. and A.E.M. would often complain to Bonilla, the case worker assigned to B.N.'s case. On June 17th, Bonilla would notice the first signs something was not right. She noted "looked very exhausted, very weak. She looked like she hadn't eaten. She just didn't look fine. She was just kind of there." J.M.M. v. State, No. CR-2024-0086, 2025 WL 1272847, at *2 (Ala. Crim. App. May 2, 2025). This was unusual to Bonilla, as during the previous visits B.N. had always been an energetic child. Over the next couple of months during check-ups, Bonilla would begin noticing extensive bruising on B.N., with less and less plausible explanations made by J.M.M. and A.E.M. regarding the cause of the bruises.

This would culminate "on August 22, 2020[.] Emergency personnel were dispatched to… [J.M.M] [and] [A.M.M's] [home][,]in response to an emergency 911 call that a child had slipped in the tub[.]" Id. First responders found "B.N. was awake but did not speak and had multiple bruises on her front and back and around her neck. Based on the severity of the injuries, B.N. was transported to Children's Hospital in Birmingham." Id. After an inspection at the hospital; doctors would testify the injuries to B.N. were "really disturbing" and had to have been inflicted by an adult. Id. "B.N. had spots on her head where her hair had been pulled, that she had 7 bald spots where her hair had been pulled out, that she had numerous bruises on her arms and hands, that she had bruises on her chest, that some bruises were already yellowing, that she had 14 bruises on her legs and feet, and that the bruising on B.N.'s body was not typical for a toddler" Id. In addition to these injuries, doctors would later find extensive skull fractures on B.N.

In response to these events, the Russell County Circuit Court would charge J.M.M. and A.E.M. for abuse of a child. The Russell County Circuit Court would use its discretion in imposing the maximum possible sentence on J.M.M. and A.E.M. The Court sentenced the couple to life in prison for their abuse of B.N. The couple would appeal this conviction to the Alabama Court of Criminal Appeals; however, on May 2, 2025, the Court would affirm the lower court ruling that under these circumstances child abuse had occurred, and imposing a life sentence in this case was within the court's discretion.

Under Alabama law child abuse occurs when a "Parent or guardian, commits the crime of aggravated child abuse if he or she… causes serious physical injury as defined in Section 13A-1-2, [Ala. Code 1975,] to the child" Id. at 7 (quoting § 26-15-3.1(b)(1), Ala. Code 1975). Serious physical injury is "injury which creates a substantial risk of death, or which causes serious and protracted disfigurement, protracted impairment of health, or protracted loss or impairment of the function of any bodily organ" § 13A-1-2(14), Ala. Code 1975. In this case, "the evidence, as set out above, was more than sufficient to establish… aggravated child abuse" J.M.M.,* *WL 1272847, at *2. Accordingly, the Court affirmed the ruling that child abuse had occurred in this case. Id.

A.E.M. would also argue separately that her life sentence was improper and the circuit court abused its discretion. She "asserted that the circuit court should have considered that she was a "decorated former service member," that she has two children, and that she spent her time in jail awaiting sentence taking "personal improvement courses" Id. The Court rejected this argument. The testimony by doctors at the children's hospital was enough to justify a life sentence. A doctor treating B.N. testified that "She saw B.N. she was horrified by the extent of B.N.'s injuries and that in her 30 years of treating pediatric injuries she had never seen a "worse case of non-fatal abuse." Id. Accordingly, "the circuit court did not abuse its considerable discretion in sentencing A.E.M. and J.M.M. to life in prison" Id.

In this case, the court made the correct decision. Children, especially young children, are the most vulnerable members of our society. The court should protect the most vulnerable members of our society against abuse, and in this case they did. B.N. was in the people of Alabama's care and on the state's watch was abused by a system the state created. Individuals who abuse the people of Alabama's trust, and abuse one of the youngest members of society, should not be allowed freedom to live in or interact in the society they abused. The Circuit Court should be applauded for taking a stand and imposing the strictest penalty possible. The appellate court also did the correct thing by strongly affirming the lower court's ruling. Landmark rulings such as this build public trust in the court system, that courts truly do protect the vulnerable and are arbiters of justice. In this case, justice was served, and hopefully the People of Alabama will provide B.N. with a better chance at life than she began with.

If you have a Federal Criminal case, a State Criminal case, a Municipal Case or a Family Law case, contact Joe Ingram or Joe Joe Ingram Law, LLC at 205-335-2640. Get Relief * Get Results.