Baby Seized at Birth from Breast-feeding Alabama Mother to go Home More than 1 Year Later
An Alabama baby seized more than a year ago from her mother by Shelby County DHR (Department of Human Resources) is to be returned home in a dramatic turnaround of events. Public outcry and media exposure of corruption eventually led to meetings with state DHR officials and a change of venue for Haly Boothe and her husband Anthony Lett’s case. Their case was transferred out of Shelby County, and almost immediately, things began to change. Now, Avyonna is on her way home. Avyonna was taken from her parents, Haly and Anthony, when she was only 3 days old. She was a breastfeeding newborn taken from her mother's breast before she ever left the hospital. There was no court order, warrant, or emergency circumstance, but the department mistakenly believed that they had the right to seize children without such, in direct opposition to the 4th Amendment of the Constitution of the United States. Caseworkers from the same department seized Avyonna's cousin - Baby Braelon - just one month later from Haly's 14 year old sister who was the alleged victim of a rape. It was one of the most-read stories covered by the Medical Kidnap division of Health Impact News and read by millions of people who were outraged. The family alleged then that they had been unjustly targeted for years by Shelby County DHR, with multiple family members seized without any evidence of abuse or neglect. While the grandparents of the Prince family are overjoyed that their granddaughter baby Avyonna will soon be home, they are still not permitted to have visitation with Baby Braelon. Yet, it is reported that the family of the biological father, accused rapist Samuel Woods III, is now being allowed visitation with the baby every other weekend.