A West Virginia couple was handed hundreds of years in prison this week after turning their black adopted children into "slaves" and putting them through "hell."
Jeanne Kay Whitefeather received up to 215 years in prison, and her husband, Donald Lantz, got a term of up to 160 years, the Associated Press reported. Whitefeather will be eligible for parole after 40 years, and Lantz will be eligible after 30 years.
"You brought these children to West Virginia, a place that I know as 'Almost Heaven,' and you put them in hell. This court will now put you in yours," Circuit Judge Maryclaire Akers said as she handed out the maximum possible sentences, the AP reported. "And may God have mercy on your souls. Because this court will not."
At a previous court appearance, Akers noted that she had never seen the types of allegations made against the couple. "It alleges human trafficking, human rights violations, the use of forced labor," Akers said according to West Virginia MetroNews. "Human rights violations specific to the fact that these children were targeted because of their race and they were used basically as slaves from what the indictment alleges."
Whitefeather and Lantz adopted five black siblings in Minnesota, the AP reported. The family then, moved to a farm in Washington state in 2018 before coming to West Virginia in 2023. At that time, the children ranged in age from 5 to 16.
The oldest sibling is now 18 and addressed Whitefeather at the sentencing: "I'll never understand how you can sleep at night. I want you to know that you are a monster."
The situation came to the attention of authorities when neighbors saw Whitefeather lock two of the children in a shed and leave. A deputy used a crowbar to free them, the AP reported.
