Vegans face life for death of infant

ATLANTA, May 4 (UPI) -- A sentencing hearing is scheduled in Atlanta next week for a vegan couple convicted of killing their newborn baby by not providing him with proper nutrition.

In the first verdict of its kind in Georgia, a Fulton County jury found vegans Lamont Thomas, 31, and Jade Sanders, 27, responsible for the death of their 6-week-old son, Crown, The Atlanta Journal-Constitution reported.

The infant, who was born in a bathtub at the couple's apartment, weighed only 3 1/2 pounds when he was dead on arrival at Piedmont Hospital in April 2004.

Doctors said the infant was so emaciated you could count his bones through his skin.

Prosecutors charged the infant's death had nothing to do with veganism but instead was the result of intentional neglect and underfeeding.

They accused the couple of trying to use their lifestyle as a shield against prosecution.