"Infant Jane" BAILEY - 11 Months - Selma (W of Montgomery) AL

Lee Smiley thought he would be able to see his 11-month-old
granddaughter’s smiling face this weekend, but he didn’t think it would
be in a hospital.

Smiley will have to choke back the tears, he said, when he sees her
broken body.

Right now, he’s angry.

The baby girl suffered severe bruises on her body, 2-to-3-inch wide
burns on her arm and swollen and broken bones in her legs. Emergency
care units took the baby to Birmingham Children’s Hospital where doctors
treated her.

Smiley believes the baby was hurt for a long time before police took
action.

Selma Police detectives arrested the mother of Smiley’s grandchild,
Monique Bailey, 30, and her boyfriend Jason Isaiah Witherspoon, 21,
Thursday and charged the couple with aggravated child abuse.

“This is my only girl grandbaby, so she’s special to us,” Smiley
said. “It’s kind of sickening to see how someone can do this to a baby.”

Smiley said he would keep his granddaughter on the weekends and he
could tell the baby was unhappy. He and his wife kept the baby for three
weeks until the child’s mother wanted her permanently and never brought
her back.

“I know the baby was very happy here with us,” he said. “She was so
lovely, and she smiled all the time. The hospital is where we saw our
grandchild for the first time since the accident. We could tell she did
not want to leave us. We want her home so we can take care of her.”

Experts say more than 900,000 children are the victims of child abuse
and neglect each year in the United States, which result in about 1,500
deaths.

Smiley is working with lawyers to gain full custody of the child.

“We’re working closely with the mother so the child can be with us
temporarily,” Smiley said. “We do not want the child to go into foster
care. She’s gonna make it. She’ll be alright.”

Smiley believes the child will make a full recovery when doctors
release her in a couple of days.

“We want to make sure this never happens again,” he said. “We want
her to be with us when she’s released. I hope through our situation,
others will be aware and keep a close watch on their children and
grandchildren.”

Sgt. Doug Stewart of the Administrative Division commander of the
Selma Police Department said the couple is jailed at the Dallas County
Jail without bond. A hearing has not been set.