Mary Robinson and husband, Dan, welcomed Dana Robinson into their lives 10 years ago and cared for the boy until he died Nov. 13, 2015.
From the outside, it would appear they were sacrificing much to care for a brain-damaged child who never walked, ran or rode a bicycle and couldn’t swallow food or even birthday cake icing.
But that’s not how she sees it.
“He was such a blessing to us,” she said Monday after Dana’s killer was sentenced. “He never complained and he had a wonderful smile.”
Moments before, she stood before Logan County Common Pleas Assigned Judge Mark S. O’Connor with poster boards filled with photographs of Dana.
“I’ve been thinking about this victim’s statement for a few weeks now,” she told the judge, “trying to figure out what would be appropriate for Dana.
“He is the only one who knows of the pain and suffering he endured his whole life — pain that was inflicted by a man they called his dad.”
She did not lash out at the convict, Michael Robinson, 53. Instead, she focused on Dana.
“We loved him unconditionally and never regretted our decision to adopt him,” Mrs. Robinson said. “Dana had a smile that would melt your heart and many lives were blessed by him.”
Judge O’Connor remembered meeting Dana in 2014 when the convict sought early release.
“He was very pleasant and smiling,” Judge O’Connor said. “My condolences to you, the parents, who gave him a lot of love.”
The judge then turned to the defendant for a statement.
The convict — who would not look at the poster boards filled with photographs — stammered, “I’m sorry. I don’t know what else I can say.”
Michael Robinson listens as Mary Robinson, adoptive mother of the late Dana Robinson, describes the short life of the boy who was beaten into a coma by the defendant in early 2007. Dana died in 2015 and the suspect, currently serving a prison term for the beating, was charged with murder but accepted a plea deal to involuntary manslaughter. (EXAMINER PHOTO | JOEL E. MAST)
In accordance with an April 19 plea agreement to involuntary manslaughter, Judge O’Connor gave him the maximum 11-year sentence with a start date of April 19 and to run concurrent to the remainder of a 14-year sentence imposed in 2007.
The additional sentence extends the defendant’s time in prison to April 18, 2028.
Read complete story in Tuesday’s Examiner.
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