An autopsy showed that 2-year-old "An autopsy found Ryshawn Bynum died of a brain injury and had a broken neck, broken ribs and as many as 70 whip marks on his legs, buttocks, back and chest that were of various ages." The father, Isaac Cortez Bynum, is charged in the case. Bynum's lawyer, Randall Vogt, is offering the untested defense of "post-traumatic slave syndrome", a legal theory which cites "multigenerational trauma" as a contributing factor to violent or self-destructive behavior among African Americans. The theory is the brainchild of Joy DeGruy-Leary, an assistant professor in the Portland State University Graduate School of Social Work, and is not generally accepted among the mental health community.
Should the slave theory fail to sway the judge, Vogt also appeals to the defendant's "traditional, Southern, small-town, working-class upbringing where 'whuppin' was accepted".
When white guilt fails, use class condescension.
Oregonian: child killer's defense
