Mom Of Teen Who Was Placed In Handcuffs By Detroit Judge Speaks Out

36th District Court Judge Kenneth King has been receiving backlash after placing a child visiting his courtroom in handcuffs and in a jail uniform for falling asleep, now the child’s mother is breaking her silence about the incident.

Latoreya Hill says she was shocked after seeing a viral video of her daughter, Eva Goodman, in handcuffs. Judge King stated that the measure was meant to instill a lesson in decorum and respect, but Hill believes the judge lacks a complete understanding of the situation. “Would you want someone to treat your child like that? Would you even treat your child like that,” Hill asked while fighting back tears.

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As we previously shared, Judge King noticed Eva Goodman dozing off during the trip and decided to put Goodman in handcuffs and a jail uniform. “I think maybe she needs to go to the juvenile detention facility,” Judge King said in court. “Why are you being disrespectful to this court? You sleep in bed at your home, not at court.” Hill explained that Goodman was struggling to stay awake because the family is currently without a stable home and she is single mother trying to make ends meet. “The fact that he was talking about ‘you go home and get in your bed’, how do you know my baby got a home, how do you know my baby got a bed, her own bed she could sleep in, she don’t have that right now, so she was tired,” Hill said.

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Judge King spoke about the situation on Tuesday and stands by his decision. “Do I have any reservations? Do I think I was heavy-handed in what I did? No, I don’t, because I’ll do whatever it needs to be done to reach these kids and make sure that they don’t end up in front of me,” Judge King said. “That was my own version of scared straight.”

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Hill stated that her daughter doesn’t need any lessons taught to her, as she is already facing significant challenges at home and is just trying to cope with the difficulties life has presented.

“You didn’t scare nobody straight, you made a parent upset, you scared my child she was nervous she didn’t know how to act. She never been inside no courtroom,” she said.

“My baby’s been struggling, but she been holding on tight, she’s been going to school, she get good grades, she don’t get into no problems,” Hill added.