Sherrie Gavan, 54, tried everything to keep her son, Clayton, away from heroin, his drug of choice. She slept next to him while he went through withdrawals, put him in a new school and even took him to work with her. She finally just decided to go after the source and attacked Joshua Loyd, the person who got her son his stuff. As a result of her actions, she may now be facing a $1,000 fine and a year in jail.
"I don't know what happens from here," Sherrie said after the verdict was handed down. "I just know you can't protect your child anymore." The jury took about two hours to make their decision.
During Sherrie's trial, Loyd admitted that he helped get Clayton heroin by taking him to a friend's mother. Although many issues were raised during the trail, Sherrie never disputed that she hit Loyd with a baseball bat, the St. Louis Post-Dispatch reported.
Her attorney, William Goldstein, argued that she was acting out of love for her son.
"She did what any good mother would do," Goldstein said. "She went down there (to Joshua's house) for one purpose and for one purpose only: get Josh out of her life."
Assistant Jefferson County Prosecutor Jacob Costello told jurors that all they had to do was focus on the law.
"This case is not about whether Mrs. Gavan is a good parent," he said. "You can't take matters into your own hands like that ... She made a choice to pull out the baseball bat."
Sherrie went to trial instead of pleading guilty to gain attention.
"I thought it was important to get the story out," she said. "My son is alive. That's all that matters ... I will take my life over his any day."
"Jury Nullification."
Yes, the judge would have had a cow. So what? The jury, not the judge, is in charge.
Had the lawyer done his job of defending his client, then the jury would have refused to convict.