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| Woman whose toddler died in swing will get mental health treatment, not prison | Woman whose toddler died in swing will get mental health treatment, not prison |
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| Romechia Simms, the woman found pushing her dead toddler on a swing in Maryland last year, will be spared from prison and institutionalization under a plea agreement accepted in Charles County Circuit Court on Monday. | Romechia Simms, the woman found pushing her dead toddler on a swing in Maryland last year, will be spared from prison and institutionalization under a plea agreement accepted in Charles County Circuit Court on Monday. |
| Simms, 25, had been suffering from schizophrenia when she pushed her son Ji’Aire Lee on a swing for more than 40 hours, including in the rain, before he died of hypothermia and dehydration last May. Under an agreement negotiated by prosecutors and defense attorneys, Simms was found to be not criminally responsible, Maryland’s version of not guilty by reason of insanity. | Simms, 25, had been suffering from schizophrenia when she pushed her son Ji’Aire Lee on a swing for more than 40 hours, including in the rain, before he died of hypothermia and dehydration last May. Under an agreement negotiated by prosecutors and defense attorneys, Simms was found to be not criminally responsible, Maryland’s version of not guilty by reason of insanity. |
| “Did I mean for any of this to happen? No. It’s just an unfortunate situation,” Simms said in court. She will be allowed to continue living free as long as she’s under the supervision of state psychologists. | |
| Charles County State’s Attorney Tony Covington said he was not happy with the outcome of the case, but he was bound to accept the conclusion of three psychologists. He said the boy died as a result of his mother neglecting to take her medication. | Charles County State’s Attorney Tony Covington said he was not happy with the outcome of the case, but he was bound to accept the conclusion of three psychologists. He said the boy died as a result of his mother neglecting to take her medication. |
| “This child’s life was taken because someone just didn’t take her mental illness seriously enough,” Covington said. | “This child’s life was taken because someone just didn’t take her mental illness seriously enough,” Covington said. |
| [Psychologist: Mother not criminally responsible in death of son on swing] | [Psychologist: Mother not criminally responsible in death of son on swing] |
| Simms had been hospitalized and diagnosed with schizophrenia a month before her son’s death. After her arrest, she told officers she had been off her medication for a “couple of days” when she went to Wills Memorial Park with her son, a chubby boy nicknamed Sumo. | |
| Teresa Grant, a state psychologist who examined Simms, wrote in a 14-page report that because of a mental disorder the mother lacked “substantial capacity to appreciate the criminality of her conduct or to conform her behavior to meet the requirements of the law.” | |
| Grant recommended that Simms be released into the community and not hospitalized because she was no longer a danger. | Grant recommended that Simms be released into the community and not hospitalized because she was no longer a danger. |
| Simms was briefly hospitalized after her son’s death and started attending therapy and working part time at Starbucks before she was arrested in September on charges of manslaughter and first-degree child abuse. She has been living with her mother in Waldorf, Md., since her family posted bail in December. | |
| Her mother, Vontasha Simms, says Romechia has been stable in recent weeks while she continues mourning the loss of her son. | Her mother, Vontasha Simms, says Romechia has been stable in recent weeks while she continues mourning the loss of her son. |
| Vontasha Simms has been pushing for state legislation to review Maryland’s social safety net for people with severe mental illness and their children. She said authorities failed to intervene when she raised concerns about her daughter’s mental health and erratic behavior. | Vontasha Simms has been pushing for state legislation to review Maryland’s social safety net for people with severe mental illness and their children. She said authorities failed to intervene when she raised concerns about her daughter’s mental health and erratic behavior. |
| Romechia Simms lived with her son and mother in a La Plata motel at the time of his death. | Romechia Simms lived with her son and mother in a La Plata motel at the time of his death. |
| [Vontasha Simms fights for mental health reform after her grandson’s death] | [Vontasha Simms fights for mental health reform after her grandson’s death] |
| Ji’Aire’s father, James Donnell Lee, had sued for custody, citing Romechia’s mental health issues, but agreed to caring for him on the weekends just 11 days before the boy’s death. Lee has previously said Romechia shouldn’t be incarcerated for his son’s death. |