Dad Gets 100 Years For Poisoning Campbell’s Soup

There is nothing Mmm, mmm, good about this Campbell’s Soup story. Although, to be fair, it’s not the soup company’s fault.

A father decided he was so money hungry, he wanted to sue the Campbell’s Soup Company. But instead of sticking a worm in his can of chicken noodle and crying foul, William Cunningham figured he’d go for the big kahuna.

He cooked up soup with prescription medicines and lighter fluid and fed it to his kids.

The good news? The children – eighteen months and three-years-old at the time – survived.

The just as good news? Cunningham’s butt is headed to prison, NEVER to see the light of day. Convicted on multiple counts of cruelty to children and aggravated assault (he already pled guilty for trying to defraud Campbell’s), the Georgia man will spend one hundred years (or at least as long as he lives) in prison. He’s also lost his wife (go figure), and he won’t be seeing the kids – who are likely to suffer lifelong respiratory problems despite their survival.

We all know people get desperate for cash, but is there ever a time when you’d put your child’s life at risk to get it? Obviously, Cunningham went farther than a normal person. I’m not suggesting poison. But let’s look at the parents who take their children along for the ride when they’re off to sell drugs, rob a store… basically, the type of crime that someone slightly more sane (although still on a criminal bent, obviously!) might commit. They’re affecting the child, risking the child’s life but certainly not feeding their child a mix that could very likely kill them.

What is it about these parents that allows them to treat the child as a pawn who they can do with what they please?

Image: Seattle PI