Couple sentenced to hundreds of years in prison for forcing adopted Black children to work as 'slaves'
A white West Virginia couple found guilty of forcing their five adopted Black children to work as "slaves" on their farm were sentenced to hundreds of years in prison.
A white West Virginia couple found guilty of forcing their five adopted Black children to work as "slaves" on their farm were sentenced to hundreds of years in prison.
Jeanne Kay Whitefeather, 63, was sentenced Wednesday to 215 years in prison. Her husband, Donald Lantz, 64, received 160 years.
“You brought these kids to West Virginia, a place as I know as almost heaven and put them in hell,” Circuit Court Judge MaryClaire Akers said, according to NBC affiliate WSAZ of Huntington, West Virginia.
“The court will now put you in yours. May God have mercy on your souls, because this court will not,” she said.
The couple adopted the children from a shelter for homeless and vulnerable youths. Whitefeather and Lantz were living in Minnesota at the time and moved the children to Washington state in 2018 and then West Virginia in 2023, The Associated Press reported.
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