Five Siblings Get $4.4m Settlement After Abuse by Adoptive Parents

Five Black siblings who were abused by their adoptive parents in West Virginia will share a $4.4 million settlement after the state’s child welfare system failed to protect them. The couple, Jeanne Kay Whitefeather and Donald Lantz, received a combined 375-year prison sentence. Prosecutors said the children, then aged six to 16, were forced to do farm work and kept in degrading conditions because of their race. Police found two teenagers locked in a shed with no running water or lighting. The children’s lawyer said authorities had received several warnings from neighbours but did not properly intervene. The settlement was approved after the children sued the state’s Department of Human Services. Some of the siblings are receiving treatment for trauma, while officials say at least one employee connected to the case has been dismissed.

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