The mistake that costed everything By Dennis J. Watson

How on earth did we get here? As i look at my reflection & still don’t have an answer for him. You’ve lost everything, even the family you never had, all because of a mistake 85% of us parents make. On april 25th 2011, this began the journey that i’m now approaching the 8th year of… I was watching my daughter while her mother took her friend to work. A normal day with daddy full of watching baby einstein videos while her other 2 sisters were at school. Just as Avi (Short for Avionna) dozed off & got good into sleeping, I had to let the damn cat in. Whenever goku & fatz (the name of our cats) get together the & trample the house. While i was in the restroom i hear Avi begin to cry. Once i get to her the playstation 3 remote controller i avi’s lap & she’s once again pissed off. In order to calm her rant i usual just put her in the baby bath, she loved bath time. Once she calmed down, her out, but before realizing that i didn’t have a towel to dry her off with. I did what any parent would do while on my knees, i put her butt up against my chest & cradled her chest with my hand. When i reachef for the towel she squirmed & slipped out of my grasp & fell. I picked her up & consoled her best i could until she calmed down. I never called the ems because of a situation that halted me to it, the warning was given to us by our family doctor.
The next morning avi was making low noises & was refusing to eat. Her mother took her to the family doctor once she took her friend to work. About an hour later Akron police, & the crime scene unit were at my door. The look that i received from the lead detective told me everything that i assumed already. They took my 2 remaining children from me & left me there with news that my daughter had life threating injuries. After sitting in the hospital & children services telling me that i couldn’t see my baby, i had enough. My pastor, my childs mother, & even my biological mother were being everything but what i expected in this situation. At the end of the day, my daughter was taken off life support 8 days later & i was charged with murder. The way i was put in the tabloids was horrendous. They said i beat my daughter to death, even though she never had a bruise when she showed up & the hospital. After 18 months of fighting the same people that was supposed to protect my family, they gave me 15 to life for loving my baby. I had to plea out to it because public defense in summit county is a joke. My defense attorney thomas dicaudo sold me out & faked a injury in order to not have to face me. Even though we have an expert by the name of Dr shaku teas. She said it wouldn’t have been possible for me to do what they said i did because it would’ve been a puddle of skin, long story short. Heather Kirkwood has been behind & supports my innocent, along with my children’s mother Debbie. My 3 daughters Cierra, Miya, & Ryanne, Christina, who knows that if the mother doesn’t believe i’m capable then it should be believed. Because she doesn’t trust anyone with the lives of her children. At the brighter light of the spectrum that i never mentioned, my family is interracial & it has played a huge part in my conviction. Many say it doesn’t, but this is ohio were talking about people. Same city that gunned down a car full of black akron university students because of an assumption. At the end of the day i know plenty of parents that have mishandled & dropped there children, but are they more than halfway through a 15 year sentence with possible life? Doubtful… Be careful, this is the same reason why i will always be hesistant to call 911 for ANY reason. I was a father, college student, & soon to be husband that had stopped using his hardknock diploma to be a family man. Now that that’s in the wind, & a new chapter has begun, it will be a success to remember. I have the best weapon every man has prayed for, someone who understands him fully & judges nothing. This mistake has been paid in full, time to live…

Dennis J. Watson
DOC #A632936