Summary
The Texas Sixth Court of Appeals at Texarkana affirmed Felisha Lynn Scroggins’s conviction for reckless injury to a child and twenty-year sentence. The court held that the evidence was legally sufficient to show that Scroggins recklessly caused her daughter’s serious bodily injury through inadequate nutrition and related omissions. The opinion addresses the legal-sufficiency standard, recklessness, statutory parental duties, and serious bodily injury under Texas law.
Court
Court of Appeals for the Sixth Appellate District of Texas at Texarkana
Jurisdiction
Texas Court of Appeals, Sixth Appellate District at Texarkana
Decision date
December 8, 2025
Docket number
No. 06-24-00235-CR
Disposition
affirmed
Questions Presented
- Whether legally sufficient evidence supported the jury's finding that Scroggins recklessly caused serious bodily injury to the child by act or omission.
- Whether legally sufficient evidence supported the jury's finding that the child suffered serious bodily injury.
Holdings
- The evidence was legally sufficient for a rational jury to find that Scroggins recklessly caused the child's injury through acts or omissions, including failing to provide adequate nutrition and medical care despite her statutory parental duty.
- The evidence was legally sufficient for the jury to find that the child suffered serious bodily injury because malnutrition caused permanently stunted growth and associated physical and cognitive impairment, constituting serious permanent disfigurement or protracted impairment.
Court Document
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