Portrayed as both an unremorseful child-killer and as a too-young-father consumed by guilt and caught up "in a calamity of issues," the 18-year-old Gaithersburg man blamed for his son's death last year will spend the next 20 years in prison, possibly at the state's psychiatric facility.
Darryl Eugene Powell, of the 9400 block of Merust Lane, pleaded guilty three months ago to one count of child abuse resulting in death for his role in the January 2009 death of his son, Zjaire Williams, 2. He was originally charged with first-degree murder.
Maternal and paternal family members attended Powell's sentencing Jan. 27 in Montgomery County Circuit Court.
Zjaire's mother's family were upset that Powell has yet to express any remorse, and bristled at his public defender's suggestion that Powell was trying to be a better father after contesting his paternity in 2008.
"Darryl Powell was not a father to that child — maybe just in name, your honor, maybe just in name," said Cynthia Brown, Zjaire's great-great-aunt. "But even that, what kind of father is that? Most animals protect their young — you get rats who protect their young. What manner of ungodly human being would beat an innocent 2-year-old baby to death and then not have the decency not to say ‘I'm sorry'?"
PHOTO CREDIT: Family photo
Zjaire Williams, 2, died after being beaten by his father, Darryl Eugene Powell, 18, in January 2009. Powell was sentenced to 30 years — with 10 years suspended. A judge recommended that he enter the state's psychiatric prison in Patuxent.
Zjaire Williams, 2, died after being beaten by his father, Darryl Eugene Powell, 18, in January 2009. Powell was sentenced to 30 years — with 10 years suspended. A judge recommended that he enter the state's psychiatric prison in Patuxent.
