Ame Deal, 10, spent her short life being passed around to abusive and neglectful relatives. Reports state that neighbors witnessed some of the harsh and bizarre punishments Deal had suffered at the hands of those who were supposed to have loved her. Ultimately, it would be one of these bizarre punishments that would take her life.
Locked in a box for stealing a popsicle, that box would become Deal’s coffin as the temperatures inside rose in the blistering Arizona heat. She was found dead the following morning.
On August 7, 2017, a court sentenced one of the relatives responsible for placing Ame in that box, Sammantha Allen, to death. Her husband, John Allen, had also been responsible for placing Ame in the box. His trial will begin October 9, 2017.
CBS reports that while Allen showed little remorse throughout the trial proceedings when a judge handed down her sentence Allen wept and hugged her attorney. Allen has officially become the 55th woman on death row in the US.