Haleigh Poutre Describes Harsh Treatment.

Although she did not provide details about the September 2005 abuse that sent her into a doctor-diagnosed "irreversible vegetative state," 14-year-old Haleigh Poutre told prosecutors about frequent spankings and slaps to the face given to her by her adoptive parents Holli and Jason Strickland, according to the Boston Globe.

Haleigh spoke to investigators in December using "simple words and hand gestures," the Globe reported. She also spelled out sentences by pointing to letters. Her ability to communicate is amazing, given that only two years earlier her brain injuries were so severe that doctors held out no hope for her recovery.

Two and a half years ago the Stricklands brought the bruised and unconscious Haleigh to the emergency room of Noble Hospital in Westfield, Massachusetts, "saying she had become unresponsive after suffering flulike symptoms," according to the Globe. "Within two days, the Department of Social Services (DSS) took custody of the couple's two other children, and a week later the couple was criminally charged in connection with Haleigh's traumatic brain injuries."

Incredibly, only six days after DSS took custody of Haleigh, it asked Juvenile Court Judge James G. Collins for permission to remove her feeding tube and ventilator. According to the Globe, on October 5, 2005, Collins gave the agency the ...