Keith v. Schaub, No. 14-1657 (7th Cir. 2014)
Annotate this CaseKeith, caring for 13-month-old Christopher, called 911 and stated that she had “killed a baby.” During a videotaped interview she admitted hitting Christopher to make him stop crying, lifting Christopher by his feet and placing his body weight on his head, slapping and choking Christopher, and attempting to resuscitate Christopher by inserting a hairbrush down his throat to induce vomiting. Keith also stated that she abused a second child in her care by burning her feet with hot water and slapping her so hard that Keith covered her face with a scarf to prevent Keith’s husband from noticing. Keith was convicted of reckless homicide. Keith sought habeas corpus relief under 28 U.S.C. 2254, contending that the state judge unduly limited the testimony of a psychologist, Kula. The judge had allowed Kula to testify about the general characteristics of people with Keith’s diagnoses, but did not allow Kula to testify about Keith’s history of abuse. Kula testified that Keith suffered from schizoid personality disorder, major depressive disorder, general anxiety disorder, post-traumatic stress disorder, and obsessive-compulsive disorder, and that Keith had an IQ of 74. The district court denied the petition. The Seventh Circuit affirmed, concluding that the trial was fundamentally fair.
Some case metadata and case summaries were written with the help of AI, which can produce inaccuracies. You should read the full case before relying on it for legal research purposes.
This site is protected by reCAPTCHA and the Google Privacy Policy and Terms of Service apply.