[Watch live streaming footage of the Leon Williams sentencing hearing in the player above when court is in session]
Georgia man Leon Williams was convicted in July of murdering his 10-year-old adopted son Kentae Williams in April 2017. His sentencing hearing before Judge Daniel Coursey Jr.begins Friday morning at approximately 10:00 a.m. ET.
Prosecutors said that Williams was punishing the boy, who had special needs, for acting out in school. They claimed that he burned the boys feet and held him underwater, drowning him in a bathtub.
Three employees at the Georgia Division of Family Children Services lost their jobs after an investigation of Kentae Williams’ death. This was due to findings that previous reported incidents involving the child were not properly handled by agency workers. Two supervisors and one case worker were let go in the weeks following Kentae Williams’ death.
Paramedics who responded to the scene said during Williams’ trial that the boy showed signs that he was already dead for nearly two hours by the time they were notified. The child was said to have second degree burns, as well.
Kentae’s grandmother was in the house at the time Leon killed him, and she said during the trial that she could hear screams. She didn’t think anything of it at the time, however, because that was common, and she assumed he just didn’t want to take a bath.
Leon Williams faces between 47 years and life in prison without parole.
Aaron Keller contributed to this report.
[Image via the DeKalb County, Georgia Jail]
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