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About The Battalion. (College Station, Tex.) 1893-current | View Entire Issue (Feb. 1, 1985)
y Friday, February 1, 1985/The Battalion/Page 7 Trio given life in jail for abuse Associated Press DALLAS — The mother, aunt and uncle who held the hands of three young girls over a gas flame as punishment for taking food were sentenced to life in prison Thursday for child abuse. The six-man, six-woman jury de liberated only 40 minutes before as sessing the maximum punishment for Samella Brumfield Gill, 35, the mother; Vera Mae Brown, 31, the aunt; and Brown’s husband, Hen derson George Brown, 33. The trio was convicted Wednes day of abusing all six of Gill’s chil dren and of taking part in the gas- stove burnings of her 11-year-old twin girls and 12-year-old daughter Aug. 27. “1 tried to pull away...but my mother pushed me back,” one of the twins testified in a barely audible voice as she described the burnings. Her hands were so badly burned that bones were exposed and doctors had to amputate a finger. “They had to cut some of it off,” the girl said, removing a cloth cover ing the injured hand and laying the hand on a ledge in front ofjurors. Her mother, aunt and uncle were arrested after Gill took the twins to Parkland Memorial Hospital for treatment of their burns. All six of Gill’s children now live with their father and an aunt in Wi chita Falls. The girl and two of her sisters, aged 12 and 9, testified during the trial that their mother and aunt stuffed rags in their mouths and “doused” them in a shower with only hot water running. The three defendants waived their right to testify in their own be half. The Brown’s lawyer said the in juries were “undeniably horrible” but asked jurors to consider the pressures of raising 13 children in a three-room apartment. An attorney for Gill said the mother didn’t know that Mrs. Brown was going to burn the children’s hands. Prosecutors rested their case Wednesday after questioning the 11- year-old about repeated physical abuse of her and her sisters. The fifth-grader slowly told how her hand was burned as punishment for taking food from a refrigerator because she was hungry. A o ir cf c* IX: 3 e etc A Club 813 WELLBORN 693-4045 C. S. TEXAS BAR DRINKS Every Thurs., Fri., & Sat. Night til Close Cover Charge: $2 Girls $3 Guys Free Beer from 8-9 p.m. TALK TO DRAPER Friday, February 15, 1985 Texas A&M University MS/PhD Candidates - join some of the nation's most respected and inventive people at developing innovative and fascinating new technologies. As a leading hands-on “working laboratory" in Technology Square, we offer a unique environment for your career to grow and develop. Positions are currently available for can didates In Electrical Engineering, Mechanical Engineering, Computer Science, and Aerospace Engineering In the following areas: »Control Systems Design * Software Development/ Evaluation ► Analog/Digital Design »Spacecraft Dynamics ► Underwater Exploration Systems ► Computer Systems Engineering • Solid State Physics • Robotics/ Automation • Guidance and Navigation Analysis • Electronic System Engineering • Optics • Test Equipment Design We are a community of 2,000 and growing. If you're looking for a competitive salary, outstanding benefits package, including tuition reimbursement, and a state-of- the-art professional challenge — we want to talk to you. Details available at your Placement Office. The Charles Stark Draper Laboratory, Inc., 555 Technology Square, Cambridge, MA 02139. We are an equal opportunily/affirmative action employer. U.S. Citizenship required. The Charles Stark Draper Laboratory, Inc TN-/-1 FREE SCREENING MONDAY, FEBRUARY 4 8:00 PM RUDDER AUDITORIUM sponsored by MSC AGGIE CINEMA TEXAS A&M, COLLEGE STATION Seating is on a first-come, first-admitted basis. VQ778A