Clenching a framed photograph of her great-niece Millie, pacing back and forth and finalizing her thoughts before she spoke in court, Francine Smith appeared pumped up, ready to hear the final verdict. Buttoned upon her chest laid her great-niece’s photo that was murdered last September.
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Millie Smith, an 11-month old baby, was murdered by her father, Littleton Jackson, last year.
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Jackson was sentenced to life in prison with no parole, convicted of first-degree intentional homicide.
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The District Attorney Kevin Shomin stated Jackson admitted to police he was drunk and attacked Millie on Sept. 25, biting the child’s face and pummeling her. Sherona Smith, Millie’s mother, returned to the home that she shared with Jackson, finding Millie on the floor and Jackson shirtless with blood around his neck.
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Even though Smith notified police of Jackson’s statements upon the death of their child, she pleaded for Jackson.
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Smith believes he didn’t commit the crime. “We both love Millie. I don’t want him to go away for something he didn’t do. He should be sent home,” said Smith.
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The prosecutor and judge stated multiple times Jackson had a history of violence, beating the mother of his child, his own mother, and his sister.
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Judge Jeffrey A. Wagner described the death in detail with Millie naked and face up, bruised on the mouth, lips, and eyes, bite marks on both sides of the neck, fractured ribs, subarachnoid hemorrhage, a bruised lung, a swollen face and rectal bleeding.
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Jackson initially slapped his daughter and preceded to bite both sides of her neck in attempt to stop her from crying, later that night stating to detectives he did lose his temper while watching his child, Shomin explained to the court.
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“Because of his heavy handed hand, his daughter is dead,” said Wagner.
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Wagner stated he took into consideration the nature of the case, the need to protect the public, previous offences, personality, character and social traits, the results of the pre sentence, etc.
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“Listening to him repeatedly clear his innocence of his deceased daughter was highly disturbing,” said Wagner.
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The mother told police Jackson was crying and told her, “I think she’s (Millie) going to die. She can’t breathe. I think I’m going to jail for the rest of my life.”
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Appearing incompetent, Smith stuttered and mis-read and pronounced words, struggling to read her final court statement, attempting to sway Wagner’s final decision.
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Both Smith and Jackson asked the judge to “go easy on him.”
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After Smith left the courtroom, her mother Charline Smith entered. She yelled her final words to Jackson and the court, “I hate the ground he walks on.”
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Exclaiming, Shomin believed Jackson was guilty. “I don’t know who he (Jackson) is trying to fool, but that’s incredible…Frankly, I’ve seen some horrific things, but I cannot recall any case where some intruder has killed a defenseless baby with no remorse,” said Shomin.
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The court sentenced Jackson to life in prison without the possibility of parole.
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Jackson claimed his innocence several times. “I never murdered my daughter. DNA came back that it wasn’t mine,” said Jackson.
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Lori Kuehn, Jackson’s lawyer, claimed the evidence of blood on Jackson’s neck was left after trying to save his daughter’s life. “He was doing everything he could to resuscitate this daughter,” said Kuehn.
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The defense asked for 30 years in prison with 10 years of extended supervision.
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“There was blood around my neck because I was holding her. There weren’t blood on my knuckles from beating her,” said Jackson.
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Kuehn and Jackson emphasized he was the sole caregiver of his family, working and taking good care of Millie. “The child protective services reported the child was in good care and that the death may have been caused due to incorrect performance of CPR,” said Kuehn.
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Francine Smith, Millie’s great aunt, entered the courtroom with a picture of Millie ready to say her final thoughts. She agrees with the court and believes Millie was equally entitled to the people who loved her. Smith said she would have protected her.
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“The torture that inflicted upon Millie should never happen again. Life in prison without release is the least of the penalties he should get for murdering and torturing his own biological child,” said Smith.
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After Smith finished he final statement, she asked Jackson to turn around to look at a picture of his daughter one last time. He didn’t flinch. “He can’t even face it,” said Smith.
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Media Milwaukee
Amy Watanabe
