đ´ Outrage After Woman Accused of Beating 1-Year-Old Released on Bail
The Case That Shook a Community
When 54-year-old Yvette Thurston was arrested for brutally abusing baby Clay Weeks, many believed justice was finally on the way. But her release on bail has left the public stunned, furious, and asking: How could this happen?
A Babyâs First Day Turns Into a Nightmare
 Clay, just one year old, was dropped off for his very first day of care. By the time his family saw him again, he had:
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AÂ black eye
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Severe cuts on his face and neck
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Bruises covering his tiny body
At first, Thurston blamed another child. But surveillance footage exposed the truth, leading to her arrest.
TIMELINE OF EVENTS
 Day 1 â Clay begins care under Thurston
 Later that day â Surveillance captures disturbing abuse
 Following morning â Family notices severe injuries, confronts Thurston
 Same day â Police review footage, Thurston arrested
 Days later â Judge grants bail, sparking community outrage
âHeâs Just a Babyâ â The Family Speaks Out
Clayâs relatives are shattered. One family member shared:
âWe trusted the system to protect him. Instead, itâs protecting the person who hurt him. Heâs just a baby. He deserves better.â
Should Bail Be Allowed?
Legal experts point out that U.S. judges typically consider:
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Public safety â Is the accused a danger to others?
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Flight risk â Is there a chance theyâll flee before trial?
But critics argue:Â In cases of severe child abuse, should bail even exist as an option?
The Bigger Picture
This case has reopened the national debate about bail reform and child protection laws. Advocates are demanding stricter measures to ensure that those accused of harming children stay behind bars until trial.
For Clay and his family, the scarsâboth emotional and physicalâmay take years to heal. For the public, one question lingers:
 Should a person accused of brutally harming a child ever walk free before trial?
cops are slamming an Austin judge after the court granted a woman accused of beating her three-month-old a $250 bond so she could be released from jail.
Brittney Bailey, 31, is a free woman despite her March arrest for beating her three-month-old baby girl.
Police are also investigating the death of the infant’s twin who was found in the home, but no charges have yet been filed.
While Bailey was not charged in that infant’s death, police noticed what they considered signs of abuse on the dead baby’s twin sister.
An abuse investigation was launched for the baby at home, while the twin taken to the hospital died.
When that baby was examined at the hospital, doctors found injuries to her lips, cheeks and nostrils and bruising to her forehead and neck.
There were also numerous fractures to both legs and possible fractures to her ribs.
That baby girl died March 15.
Doctors didn’t buy Bailey’s version of events, writing in their report to police that the wounds on the baby were ‘attributable to forces generated by someone with the strength and coordination of an adult.’
The father of twins witnessed Bailey being rough with the infant on several occasions, but claimed she would beat on him when he tried to intervene.
While investigating the death of the baby, police noticed signs of abuse on the other twin.
Bailey was charged with injury to a child, a first-degree felony, for the twin who is still alive.
Originally, Bailey was given a $40,000 bond.
Meanwhile, the investigation into who, if anyone at all, will face charges for the death of the other twin remains open as police wait for an autopsy, the Austin Police Department told DailyMail.com.
‘There is potential for further charges,’ the agency confirmed.
However, Bailey’s lawyer submitted a request to lower Bailey’s bond, claiming she was ‘indigent,’ court records show.
On April 23, Jeffers reduced Bailey’s bond to $250. The mom walked out of the jail the next day.
As part of her bond, Bailey must wear a GPS monitor for 90 and has a curfew from 9 p.m. to 6 a.m.