1. Terrell Peterson was a five-year-old boy from Atlanta, Georgia, who was tortured and beaten to death while his case was under active state supervision.
10 Facts About Terrell Peterson
1. 2.
Terrell Peterson was one of more than 800 children who died between 1995 and 1998 after their cases were brought to the attention of the Georgia Department of Human Services' Division of Family and Children Services.
3.
Terrell Peterson's case was considered to have been one of the worst cases of child abuse in history.
4.
Lawyer Don Keenan, who sued the state of Georgia on Terrell Peterson's behalf, was quoted as saying:.
5.
Terrell Peterson's Head Start teacher, Joanne Bryant, found him rummaging in a trash can at school looking for food.
6.
Terrell Peterson did not feel she was guilty of child abuse.
7.
When Terrell Peterson went back to the same Head Start class he was in prior to the assault, Bryant, his teacher, noticed he was not walking normally.
8.
Terrell Peterson claimed members of the agency expressed "outrage at the loss of precious life" but that they had responded "immediately and comprehensively" to allegations of Terrell's abuse.
9.
Terrell Peterson will cooperate with the agency and continue to show interest in the support of the child while they are at home.
10.
The Georgia legislature passed the Terrell Peterson Act, which gives doctors the authority to take temporary custody of battered children at the hospital without department approval.