The Iowa Supreme Court has ruled in a case involving a Davenport couple who were found guilty of child endangerment after a 13-year-old boy in their home nearly died of alcohol poisoning.
Thirteen-year-old Travis Talbot says he drank more than half a bottle of vodka at a party just down the street from the home of Mark and Sandra Leckington. The couple picked Travis and their 12-year-old son up from the party, dropped them off at their home, then left.
When the couple returned, Travis was unconscious. He eventually wound up in intensive care at the University of Iowa Hospitals, in a coma, with a blood alcohol level four times the legal limit. A jury found the couple guilty of child endangerment and neglect, and found Sandra guilty of providing the alcohol.
The Iowa Supreme Court has thrown out the convictions against Mark Leckington, saying his level of indifference to what was happening was appalling but not criminal. But Sandra Leckington’s convictions stand.
The justices concluded she had been the one who was told the boy was incredibly intoxicated but did nothing to care for him. The court’s opinion concludes Sandra Leckington made some horrible decisions that nearly cost her son’s pal his life.