Disciplining your kid is necessary, but the ways in which we choose to discipline them really do matter. Although old sayings such as “Spare the rod, spoil the child” were quoted by many generations, the truth is that physical violence is still pretty prevalent today. Roughly 17% of children in America are physically abused, and 77% of the time it is a parent committing that abuse, according to the National Children’s Alliance. And yet, there is mounting evidence that physical abuse doesn’t really do much to help correct negative behaviors.
“Hitting children does not teach them right from wrong,” stated Elizabeth Gershoff, PhD, an expert on the effects of corporal punishment on children who provided research for a resolution on physical discipline adopted by the American Psychological Association’s Council of Representatives. “Spanking gets their attention, but they have not internalized why they should do the right thing in the future. They may behave when the adult is there but do whatever they want at other times.”
Then there are the tragic cases where corporal punishment goes well beyond spanking and ventures into dangerous and even fatal territory. Illinois mother Jannie Perry, now 42, recently pleaded guilty to first-degree murder for the 2021 killing of her 6-year-old boy, Damari Perry. She and her elder son, Jeremiah Perry, now 24, both allegedly held the child under a cold shower for a prolonged period of time to punish his behavior, according to People.
The pair reportedly also burned his body afterward in an attempt to hide the evidence of their crime. Both of them faced eight counts of murder charges and a laundry list of others, including dismembering a human body, for how they disposed of him, the outlet reported. They also faced charges of aggravated battery of a child, conspiracy, aggravated domestic battery, concealment of a homicidal death, endangering the life or health of a child, abuse of a corpse, and obstructing justice.
People reported that is it still unclear which charges were dropped beyond the first-degree murder charge she pleaded guilty to the week prior.
Jannie Perry will be sentenced on January 30, 2026, while Jeremiah Perry will face trial starting on February 9, 2026.
“As prosecutors considered the crime scene where Damari died, it became clear that this was a calculated plan against a small child,” Lake County State’s Attorney Eric Rinehart stated in a release in 2022, Fox 32 reported at the time. “Damari’s final minutes warrant the sentencing enhancements that accompany such ‘brutal and heinous’ circumstances. The defendants’ stunning failure to seek medical attention demonstrates their intent to end Damari’s life. Transporting and burning the body as part of a cover up also warranted the additional serious charges we filed today.”
According to The Chicago Tribune, another one of Perry’s children also participated in the grueling act but has been charged as a minor. Perry, who is a mother to seven children, reportedly fought to regain custody of Damari in 2017 after he was put into the foster system after his 2015 birth.
I think I speak for every mother when I say whatever sentence they are dealt won’t be enough. That poor baby could have been truly loved and cared for by someone who desperately wanted him.
