A judge in Alabama has sentenced a couple to life in prison for the near-fatal beating of their three-year-old daughter, following a dramatic courtroom hearing where he dismantled their defence and chastised their attorney.
A Brutal Assault and a Flimsy Cover-Up
Circuit Judge Charles Elliott handed down the maximum sentence to Lance and Hannah Campbell on Wednesday in the Eighth Judicial Circuit Court of Alabama. The case stemmed from the horrific abuse of the girl in May 2021. The child was first taken to Decatur Morgan Hospital with life-threatening injuries on 30 May 2021, after Hannah Campbell claimed her daughter had fallen down concrete steps at their Hartselle home.
Medical professionals immediately disputed this story, finding the injuries inconsistent with a simple fall. The toddler was rushed to Children's of Alabama in Birmingham, where doctors discovered severe internal damage, including lacerations to her pancreas and liver. She endured multiple surgeries and a month-long hospital stay to recover.
The Judge's Scathing Courtroom Rebuke
During the sentencing hearing, defence attorney Kevin Teague asked the judge to consider Lance Campbell's limited education, calling him a "slow learner." In response, Judge Elliott ordered prosecutors to display graphic photographs of the injured child taken a day after the assault.
The images, which caused gasps in the gallery, showed the girl with two black eyes, a cut above her right eye, and extensive deep purple bruising across her arms, legs, and buttocks. Elliott later turned Teague's words back on him while addressing Lance Campbell directly. "I'm going to give you plenty of time to learn, plenty of time to learn what it is to be a man," the judge declared before imposing the life sentence.
The confrontation intensified when Teague suggested a striped bruise on the child's buttock was caused by the family's Chihuahua. Judge Elliott dismissed this, suggesting it looked more like the mark of a belt buckle, and pointedly reminded the lawyer that a jury had already found his client guilty.
Revealing Texts and a Mother's Deception
The court heard damning evidence of the couple's attempts to evade responsibility. Text messages revealed Hannah Campbell in a panic, writing, "We can go to jail. I don't want to go to jail. I'm freaking out." Morgan County Assistant District Attorney Courtney Schellack stated the Campbells not only abused the child but "let her sit for 24 hours before going to the hospital," adding she would have died without expert care.
It was also revealed that Hannah Campbell had applied makeup to the toddler to conceal her injuries between hospital visits. Judge Elliott eviscerated her changing testimony, stating he had "seen amoebas shift less than your story did."
After an hour of deliberation, a jury convicted both parents of aggravated child abuse. Judge Elliott's final words to the defence attorney, who apologised for becoming emotional, were stark: "You haven't seen emotional yet, Kevin." The Campbells will now spend the rest of their lives behind bars.
