Amanda Watkins to do Mandatory 10 Years

2009 School Photo

Colbert County Judge Jackie Hatcher yesterday sentenced Amanda Duboise Watkins to two mandatory five year terms to be served consecutively. If Watkins should experience any trouble in prison, she will be forced to serve the entire 20 years--not a pleasant thought.

This sentence doesn't bode well for Kimberly Bynum of Franklin County and Dana Allen of Lauderdale. These two women face similar charges and ostensibly similar sentences should they be convicted.

At Trial 2011

Related post: Delmer & Amanda Duboise Do Their Students

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Bailey's Bailiwick: Just Say No to Teacher Sex

When I was a small child we had a neighbor, Mrs. Dollie Smith (I've changed her last name). Miss Dollie as most people called her was a widow with several grown children. Miss Dollie always had a neat yard and was known for serving the Lord.

At some some point when I was in school at Richards Elementary, Miss Dollie's daughter and son-in-law had to leave for military duty or some similar reason. Their two children came to live with her. These girls were older than I, but sometimes my mother would drop them off at Coffee High before taking me on to Richards. They were both very nice and polite. One of them even once chided me for sassing my mother.

Some months ago, a friend asked me if I knew who Carter Watkins was. I replied that he was Amanda Duboise Watkins' husband. My friend said yes, but he was also the son of one of Miss Dollie's granddaughters, the girls I had known briefly in childhood. I admit I hadn't thought about them in years, and Miss Dollie has been gone quite some time. Still, I thought a great deal about Carter and his plight after that.

My friend thought that Carter had taken his wife back. I don't know if that is true, and whatever decision he made was his alone and he obviously knows more about the situation than we do. If it's true, it's doubly sad that now his wife Amanda will be gone for ten years. When she returns her daughter will be almost grown.

If Amanda is mentally ill, she should have been allowed to get help. If she isn't mentally ill, I want to ask her, "Was it worth it, Amanda?"



Shoalanda