A Staten Island boy, whose father burned his hands on the stove and then tossed him naked into an oven, begged a Staten Island judge on Friday to go easy on his father. The youngster’s emotional appeal worked.
“He made a big mistake, but really somewhere in his heart, he is funny, lovable, caring, and a great father,” Chris Moss, 11, said of his father, James, who admitted to the horrific crime. “Everybody in my family … is giving him a second chance, will you? I just can’t see my dad taken away from me. Right now I’m crying because he is the only dad I need.”
The Staten Island district attorney’s office asked for the maximum sentence, seven years in prison, arguing that Moss inhumanely punished his son last year because he thought he stole $20 from his wallet.
Prosecutors say Moss beat the boy with a spatula, put his hands over two hot oven burners until the skin peeled, punched him in the face and then shoved him into an oven for several minutes.
Moss was sentenced to four months of weekends in prison at Rikers Island. The 53-year-old will also be put on probation for five years, must live away from his son for one year and take anger management classes.
“This court feels compelled to temper justice with compassion,” said Judge Robert Collini, according to the Staten Island Advance. The judge said Moss had shown “uninhibited remorse,” the paper reported.
This would be a great article to bring up in a Bible study or a Sunday school class and discuss the various acts of the Christian faith represented by the son, father, and the judge.