text: Update, 9:04 a.m., June 22, 2016 
   
   
   
   'It's been hell,' says Baton Rouge mom jailed for allegedly beating sons after catching them burglarizing home 
   
   Original story: 
   
   A Baton Rouge mother who caught her three sons breaking into a residence was arrested Tuesday after she whipped them as a punishment, East Baton Rouge deputies said. 
   
   But the decision to jail 30-year-old Schaquana Evita Spears on child cruelty counts was questioned by the local district attorney and scolded by strangers as far away as California, prompting a debate about where to draw the line between well-meaning discipline and child abuse. 
   
   Even Lisa Nicholson, the 45-year-old neighbor who said it was her house that was burglarized by Spears’ children, said she thought the single mother of six should be commended, not arrested. Though she wasn’t home at the time of the break-in, Nicholson said that as the homeowner she could have had killed the boys out of panic when they busted her back window. 
   
   “If it was me,” she said, “I’m gonna beat you before I let the cops kill you. I’m gonna do what I have to do. I’m not gonna let (my children) steal and kill and do all of that. I’m not gonna let them fall victim to the streets.” 
   
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   Spears, who has worked as a cook and opened a small catering business, admitted she hit her three sons — ages 10, 12 and 13 — after she caught them breaking into the residence near her house at 5470 Satinwood Drive on Friday, according to a Sheriff’s Office report. 
   
   Her 13-year-old son, interviewed by child services officials at the juvenile detention center, told authorities Spears struck him multiple times with an RCA cord. RCA cables are used to connect devices like VCRs and DVD players to TV sets or CD players to stereo receivers. 
   
   He had lacerations to both of his arms and marks across his leg, shoulder, back and stomach, causing some bleeding, the report says. 
   
   Juvenile justice officials said they could not reveal why the son was at the juvenile facility. 
   
   The other two boys also had some injuries, with the 12-year-old showing cuts on his arm and the youngest child receiving a small scratch to the hand, according to the document. Spears was accused of two counts of cruelty to juveniles. 
   
   “Surely you would expect a parent to discipline a child who is burglarizing other people’s homes as this could be a deadly encounter for the child,” said East Baton Rouge Parish District Attorney Hillar C. Moore III, whose office would handle Spears’ criminal charges, if they are prosecuted. 
   
   Moore said Spears’ case is being reviewed, including the seriousness of the boys’ injuries. He noted she has no prior convictions. 
   
   Spears’ criminal history includes a theft count in 2008 which was dismissed, according to court records. 
   
   In the Friday incident, her sons stole a hoverboard, electronics and socks from Nicholson’s house, and Spears immediately ordered the boys to return the items, Nicholson said. The goods belonged to Nicholson’s 13-year-old son, Trayquan, who said some but not all of his belongings have been returned. 
   
   “We oftentimes see children who have no parental authority or discipline which eventually results in delinquency and criminal acts,” Moore said. “We need more parents who discipline their children.” 
   
   Glenn Nettles, 53, came by Spears’ empty house Tuesday to see if his friend was inside. Nettles said Spears called him from jail, telling him her children were now being cared for by her mother, who lives out of town. He said he believes Spears’ 13-year-old is her eldest. 
   
   “She loves her kids. She don’t beat her kids,” Nettles said, noting the distinction, echoed by Nicholson, between “beating,” abuse that might involve chains and fists, and “whupping,” which he said is an acceptable form of punishment. 
   
   “Everybody �?whup’ their kids,” he said. “They do something wrong. What are you supposed to do?” 
   
   Nettles said he used to train Spears when they worked in the kitchen at the Hilton Garden Inn, calling her a “real sweet” person. 
   
   A Facebook page that appears to belong to Spears shows a business card for “MyHeartInIt Catering & Creationz,” listing her name and address. The profile includes many pictures of elaborate culinary spreads, some with pineapples sprouting from towers of fruit. 
   
   No one answered the door at her one-story house on Tuesday. A toddler’s toy scooter was the only vehicle outside. 
   
   Casey Rayborn Hicks, spokeswoman for the East Baton Rouge Sheriff’s Office, said she was unable to comment on the criticisms of Spears’ arrest. 
   
   An online article in The Advocate about Spears on Tuesday drew some 1,200 comments by that night, as well as at least one donation pledge from a stranger in Oakland, California. 
   
   Louis Villa, 83, called the paper asking where he could pay Spears’ $2,500 bail. 
   
   “I had a single parent, and hey, she had to discipline us. Yeah, I got hit by an ironing cord, but it made me a better person. It saved my life,” Villa said, adding he imagined Spears might be like his mother: a single black mom who might not have the support she needs. 
   
   “She explained why she had to hit us, why she had to discipline us, why we had to be home at a certain time,” Villa said. “It just is not easy for black women in America.” 
   
   Nettles said an acquaintance who works as a lawyer is trying to help Spears post bail. As of Tuesday night, records showed Spears was still an inmate. ||||| Spare the rod? Welfare chief, attorney for arrested Baton Rouge mom differ on what constitutes child abuse 
   
   Spare the rod? Welfare chief, attorney for arrested Baton Rouge mom differ on what constitutes child abuse 
   
   The way to tell when disciplining a child has gone too far is when a child is left bleeding or with cuts, burns or bruises, the state’s top child welfare official said Thursday. 
   
   Department of Children and Family Services Secretary Marketa Garner Walters said in a statement that she felt “compelled to address a question many are asking” about child abuse but didn’t specify any particular case she was addressing. 
   
   “Reasonable, constructive discipline is a healthy part of parenting and an essential element of child rearing, but it crosses into abuse when it leaves a child cut, burned, bloody or bruised. We’re referring to something more than a mere ‘spanking,’ ” she said. 
   
   The statement comes amid a controversy over the arrest Tuesday of Schaquana Evita Spears, a 30-year-old Baton Rouge mother booked on two counts of cruelty to juveniles after she admitted to striking three of her sons with a cord, leaving two of them with cuts and one bloodied. She said she “whipped” the children after she found out they broke a neighbor’s window and stole some $1,700 worth of equipment, including a hoverboard, video game systems, a computer and other items, according to an East Baton Rouge Parish Sheriff’s Office report. 
   
   Spears, who was released late Tuesday night after a judge reduced her bail, attracted defenders from across the country, including state Treasurer John Kennedy, who wrote an open letter to Walters calling for leniency on Spears. 
   
   “If you are planning to keep or take these children away from their mother simply because she disciplined them for stealing, that would be a ludicrous step to take,” Kennedy wrote in the letter. 
   
   “In biblical times, sparing the rod led to a spoiled child. In modern times, sparing the rod leads to an imprisoned child,” he wrote. 
   
   Spears, a single parent, said Wednesday she is working to regain custody of her six children, who are being cared for by their grandmother. Spears did not respond to a query Thursday. 
   
   “We are terribly upset she was arrested in the first place,” said Spears’ attorney, Brenden Craig. “We think the arresting agency would have been better served taking more time to investigate. I suggest they could have applied for a warrant, but they didn’t do that. They slapped the cuffs on her.” 
   
   Casey Rayborn Hicks, spokeswoman for the Sheriff’s Office, the agency that arrested Spears, said she does not have a response. 
   
   Craig said just because Spears’ children had cuts or were bleeding does not mean his client is guilty of a crime. 
   
   “She was doing everything a mother should do,” he said, adding that his client loves her children. “What occurred did not constitute abuse.” 
   
   Craig said he could not comment on the custody status of Spears’ children. 
   
   Walters said the Department of Children and Family Services encourages anyone with questions about child development and appropriate discipline to call Prevent Child Abuse Louisiana’s “Kidline” at ( 800) CHILDREN, which is available from 8 a.m. to 8 p.m. daily. ||||| Mom thought she was doing the right thing when she whipped kids who broke into home 
   
   BATON ROUGE - A Baton Rouge mother who was arrested by East Baton Rouge Parish Sheriff's deputies after she admitted to whipping her sons as punishment for breaking into a house has bonded out of jail. She told our cameras she thought she was doing the right thing by disciplining her children. 
   
   30-year-old Schaquana Spears was booked on child cruelty charges Monday morning. 
   
   The arrest reports says her 13-year-old reportedly told East Baton Rouge Sheriff’s Office detectives that Spears had struck him with an RCA cord multiple times. The boy had cuts on both arms and marks across his body, according to investigators. 
   
   The other two boys, aged 10 and 12, also had injuries, according to arrest documents. 
   
   Spears was booked into the parish prison on two counts of cruelty to juveniles with bond set at $2,500. 
   
   District Attorney Hillar Moore released a statement about the incident: 
   
   "Parents have the right and obligation to discipline and teach their children. We often time see children who have no parental authority or discipline which eventually results in delinquency and criminal acts. We need more parents who discipline their children. Surely you would expect a parent to discipline a child who is burglarizing other people’s homes as this could be a deadly encounter for the child. The degree of physical discipline will be reviewed. The law does not allow excessive pain or cruelty but does allow physical parental discipline. I only have the short synopsis which does indicate that the discipline resulted in marks on the child’s body and possibly an open wound. I will review all of the reports; meet with the DCFS office and review any history of this mother and her children to get a better picture of the entire family dynamics before making a decision. In the meantime my office is working with the juvenile court to ensure the speedy release of the mother under conditions satisfactory to the court." 
   
   News 2's Brett Buffington was there when Spears bonded out of jail Tuesday night. 
   
   "They're just being kids, being followers," Spears said. "I thought I was showing them this is not what you do. You do not steal people's stuff, what they work hard for. I know how that feels, I've had my house broken into." 
   
   She told News 2 that someone saw her story on TV and showed up to post her bond for her. 
   
   Multiple crowdfunding campaigns appeared in the mid-morning hours of Wednesday on sites like GoFundMe and Plumfund. The GoFundMe account had garnered more than $700 in donations as of 11 a.m. with the stated aim being "to find suitable care for her children during the summer (if she needs it)." Just 20 minutes later that campaign was no longer active. News 2 has reached out to the creators of the donation campaigns but have not received a reply at the time of this writing. ||||| An RCA connector, sometimes called a phono connector or (in other languages) Cinch connector, is a type of electrical connector commonly used to carry audio and video signals. The name RCA derives from the Radio Corporation of America, which introduced the design by the early 1940s for internal connection of the pickup to the chassis in home radio-phonograph consoles. It was originally a low-cost, simple design, intended only for mating and disconnection when servicing the console. Refinement came with later designs, although they remained compatible. 
   
   RCA connectors began to replace the older quarter-inch phone connectors for many other applications in the consumer audio world when component high-fidelity systems started becoming popular in the 1950s. However, quarter-inch phone connectors are still common in professional audio, while miniature phone connectors (3.5 mm) predominated in personal stereo systems. 
   
   The connection's plug is called an RCA plug or phono plug, for "phonograph." The name "phono plug" is sometimes confused with a "phone plug" which may refer to a quarter-inch "phone plug" – Tip/Sleeve (TS) or Tip/Ring/Sleeve (TRS) connector – or to a 4P4C connector used for a telephone (which is often, though incorrectly, called "RJ9", "RJ10", or "RJ22"). 
   
   Origin [ edit ] 
   
   The back of an RCA AM radio from the 1940s with RCA connector for adding a turntable. Tag around connector reads "An inexpensive RCA Victor record player will make a fine Victrola of this radio. Plug here." 
   
   The word phono in phono connector is an abbreviation of the word phonograph, because this connector was originally created to allow the connection of a phonograph turntable to a radio receiver, using the radio as an amplifier. This setup was present in most radios manufactured in the 1930s onward by the Radio Corporation of America (RCA), who later marketed a special turntable for 45 RPM records, the model 9JY.[1] 
   
   Phono input [ edit ] 
   
   A "phono input" is a set of input jacks, usually RCA jacks, located on the rear panel of a preamp, mixer or amplifier, especially on early radio sets, to which a phonograph or turntable is attached. Modern styli (phonograph needles) and phono cartridges give a very low level output signal of the order of a few millivolts which the circuitry amplifies and equalizes. 
   
   Phonograph recordings are made with high frequencies boosted and the low frequencies attenuated: during playback the frequency response changes are reversed. This reduces background noise, including clicks or pops, and also conserves the amount of physical space needed for each groove, by reducing the size of the larger low-frequency undulations. This is accomplished in the amplifier with a phono input that incorporates standardized RIAA equalization circuitry. 
   
   Through at least the 1980s, the phono input was widely available on consumer stereo equipment—even some larger boomboxes had them. By the 2000s only very sophisticated and expensive stereo receivers retained the phono input, since most users were expected to use digital music formats such as CD or satellite radio. Some newer low-cost turntables include built-in amplifiers to produce line-level (one volt) outputs; devices are available that perform this conversion for use with computers; or older amplifiers or radio receivers can be used. Nearly all DJ mixers have two or more phono inputs, together with two or more one-volt line inputs that also use RCA connectors. 
   
   This "phono input" designed for the millivolt signal from an unamplified turntable should not be confused with the modern standard one-volt line input and output that also uses RCA connectors and is found on video cameras, recorders and similar modern equipment. 
   
   Other uses [ edit ] 
   
   RCA sockets, or jacks, here used for YPbPr video output. 
   
   In the most normal use, cables have a standard plug on each end, consisting of a central male connector, surrounded by a ring. The ring is often segmented to provide spring gripping pressure when mated. Devices mount the socket (female jack), consisting of a central hole with a ring of metal around it. The ring is slightly larger in diameter and longer than the ring on the plug, allowing the plug's ring to fit tightly over it. The jack has a small area between the outer and inner rings which is filled with an insulator, typically plastic (very early versions, or those made for use as RF connectors, used ceramic). 
   
   The connector was initially used for audio signals. As with many other connectors, the RCA has been adopted for other uses than originally intended, including as a DC power connector, an RF connector, and as a connector for loudspeaker cables. Its use as a connector for composite video signals is extremely common, but provides poor impedance matching.[2] RCA connectors and cable are also commonly used to carry S/PDIF-formatted digital audio, with plugs colored orange to differentiate them from other typical connections. 
   
   Connections are made by pushing the cable's plug into the female jack on the device. The signal-carrying pin protrudes from the plug, and often comes into contact with the socket before the grounded rings meet, resulting in loud hum or buzz if the audio components do not share a common ground and are powered while making connections. Continuous noise can occur if the plug partially falls out of the jack, breaking the ground connection but not the signal. Some variants of the plug, especially cheaper versions, also give very poor grip and contact between the ground sheaths due to their lack of spring action. 
   
   They are often color-coded, yellow for composite video, red for the right audio channel, and white or black for the left channel of stereo audio. This trio (or pair) of jacks can be found on the back of almost all audio and video equipment. One or more sets are often found on TV sets to facilitate connection of camcorders, other portable video sources and video game consoles.[3] Although nearly all connectors, including analog and S/PDIF audio as well as composite and component video, can use identical 75 Ω cables, sales of special-purpose cables for each use have proliferated. Varying cable quality means that a cheap line-level audio cable might not successfully transfer component video. For digital audio, as long as a connection is successfully made using the cables the sound will remain faithful to the original signal because a digital signal can only be fully received or not received at all. Cables should meet the S/PDIF specification as defined by the international standard IEC 60958-3 for assured performance. 
   
   The male plug has a center pin which is 3.175 mm (1/8 inch) in diameter, and is surrounded by an outer shell which is 8.25 mm (1/3 inch) in diameter. 
   
   Disadvantages [ edit ] 
   
   "Bullet plug" variation – Note the hollow center conductor and the pin point for the return signal. 
   
   One problem with the RCA connector is that, when connecting the male into the female, the inner 'hot' (signal) connection is made before the 'cold' (ground) connection has been guaranteed; this often produces a loud buzz. Another problem with the RCA connectors is that each signal requires its own plug. Even the simple case of attaching a cassette deck may need four of them, two for stereo input and two for stereo output. In any common setup this quickly leads to a disarray of cables and confusion in how to connect them, which is made worse if one considers more complex signals like component video (a total of three for video and two for analog audio or one for digital coaxial audio). 
   
   There have been attempts to introduce combined audio/video connectors for direct signals, but in the analog realm none of these has ever become common, with the exception of Europe where the SCART connector was very successful.[4] For a time the 5-pin DIN connector was popular for bi-directional stereo connection between A/V equipment, but it has been entirely displaced on modern consumer devices. Though RF modulators inherently transmit combined A/V signals in video applications, they depend on broadcast television systems and RF connectors which are not universal worldwide; RF signals are also generally inferior to direct signals due to protocol conversion and the RF limitations of the three major analog TV systems (NTSC, PAL and SECAM). 
   
   Before HD television became a standard, nearly all TV sets, VCRs, and DVD players sold in Europe had SCART connectors,[4] although these are sometimes supplemented by RCA and/or RF connectors. SCART-RCA adapters also exist, which usually allow input of composite video and stereo audio.[5] Outside Europe, separate RCA connectors are usually used,[citation needed] supplemented by RF connectors for backward compatibility and simplicity. Although mini-DIN connectors are used for S-Video connections, composite video, component video, and analog audio (mono or stereo) all use RCA connectors unless the signals are sent via SCART. In the digital realm, however, combined A/V connectors are gaining ground; HDMI is commonly used today for consumer electronics, and DisplayPort, a potential competitor to HDMI, is often found on home computers and peripherals. 
   
   The "hot" signal wire and signal ground provided by an RCA connection implement an unbalanced connection. A true balanced connection is generally preferred in certain applications, particularly professional settings, because it allows for the use of long cables while reducing susceptibility to external noise. 
   
   Color coding in consumer equipment [ edit ] 
   
   Plugs and sockets on consumer equipment are conventionally color-coded to aid correct connections. The standard[6] colors for the various signals are shown below; however, beyond 7.1 audio, the standard has degraded to a more general white/yellow, red/blue, and green/yellow color scheme for each cable respectively. 
   
   Stereo audio applications use either black and red, grey and red or white and red RCA connectors; in all three cases, red denotes right. White or purple may also be replaced by black. Some older tape recorders, and equipment like receivers designed to connect to them, use a 5-pin DIN connector to connect left and right for record and playback with a single cable. Adapters between this connector and RCA connectors have used white and red for left and right channel recording, and blue (or sometimes black) and yellow for playback, but this is not universal. Most modern equipment with RCA connectors for recording devices simply uses white and red for all stereo pairs, whether record or playback. 
   
   While these are the standard colors found on commercially made products, cables with different-colored connectors may be used, as long as the cable itself is compatible with the application (for example, cables with 75 ohms impedance for video and SPDIF). 
   
   Composite analog video Composite Yellow Analog audio Left/Mono (record if 4 connector tape cable) White Right (record if 4 connector tape cable) Red Left tape (play if 4 connector tape cable) Black Right tape (play if 4 connector tape cable) Yellow Center Green Left surround Blue Right surround Grey Left back surround Brown Right back surround Tan Subwoofer Purple Digital audio S/PDIF Orange Component analog video (YP B P R ) Y Green P B /C B Blue P R /C R Red Component analog video/VGA (RGB/HV) R Red G Green B Blue H (Horizontal sync)/S(Composite Sync) Yellow V (Vertical sync) White 
   
   See also [ edit ]
target: – Appropriate parenting or criminal behavior? That's the question being asked across the US in regards to the case of a Louisiana woman arrested Monday for whipping her young sons after they burglarized a neighbor's house. Among the people speaking up for Schaquana Evita Spears, a 30-year-old single mom of six, is Lisa Nicholson—the woman whose Baton Rouge home Spears's sons, ages 13, 12, and 10, broke into. "I would prefer for her to spank her own kids than for them to come into someone's house and for [the homeowner] to kill them," Nicholson tells the Advocate. The fate they faced instead after allegedly stealing what the Advocate reports was $1,700 in goods, including a computer and hoverboard: Per the East Baton Rouge Sheriff’s Office report, the oldest boy's wounds were bleeding, and the 12-year-old's skin was broken by the lashes. WBRZ reports the 13-year-old's injuries were on his arms, with marks on his body, and he told police an RCA cable was used; the youngest boy had a small scratch on the hand. In a statement, the District Attorney Hillar Moore said the case is under review and noted "the law does not allow excessive pain or cruelty but does allow physical parental discipline." But some experts, referencing a 2016 study, tell the Advocate that corporal punishment is not effective and can actually lead to worse behavior. "It's been hell," Spears—whose kids were, as of Wednesday, in the care of a grandmother—tells WBRZ. "I never could imagine trying to be a good mother would end me up in jail." A GoFundMe page set up for Spears says she lost her job over the incident. "Jus [sic] want my life back," she wrote on Facebook on Friday. (These bank workers were publicly spanked for "not exceeding themselves.")