Deja Taylor, the mother of a six-year-old boy who shot his teacher in Virginia, has been sentenced to 21 months in prison for using cannabis while owning a firearm. The 26-year-old pleaded guilty in June to the federal charge, which stems from the January 6 shooting at Richneck Elementary School in Newport News.
During the hearing on Wednesday, Judge Mark Davis handed down the full term requested by prosecutors. Taylor wiped away tears as the sentence was read. Her attorney read a statement in which Taylor expressed remorse 'for the rest of my life'. The victim, teacher Abby Zwerner, read a victim-impact statement, describing nightmares involving firearms and the physical and emotional toll of the incident, including five surgeries to regain motion in her left hand.
Investigators found approximately 28 grams of cannabis in Taylor's home after the shooting. While cannabis is legal in Virginia, federal law prohibits owning a firearm while being an active drug user. Taylor also faces a separate state charge of felony child neglect, with a hearing scheduled for December.
Taylor's attorneys had argued for home confinement and probation, citing her need for mental health treatment, including for schizoaffective disorder and marijuana addiction. The child, now seven, told police he obtained the gun from his mother's handbag by climbing onto a drawer.
Ms Zwerner, who was shot in the hand and upper chest and spent two weeks in hospital, has filed a lawsuit against the school board, alleging that the school ignored the child's history of random violence. The school board's attempt to dismiss the lawsuit was rejected earlier this month.
