Officials announced that Mack Adams Gaines, a South Carolina man accused of waiting days to report the fatal fall of his 92-year-old mother, is going to jail.
According to prosecutors in Oconee County, which is located roughly 45 miles west of Greenville, Gaines was ordered by the judge to serve 20 years in prison after he was convicted on April 19 of "unlawful neglect of a vulnerable adult resulting in death."
David R. Wagner, who is the 10th Judicial Circuit solicitor, said in a news release on April 20 that this was a senseless act of neglect by Gaines that ultimately cost a defenseless 92-year-old woman her life, according to a report by the State.
Alma Louise Gaines' death classified as homicide
Fletcher N. Smith Jr., an attorney representing Gaines in this case, sent an email to McClatchy News, saying that he intends to appeal his client's conviction because the caregiver law in the state of South Carolina is vague.
The case in question, according to prosecutors, is linked to a phone call that Gaines made back on December 18, 2017. That was when Gaines reportedly asked for medical help for his mother, Alma Louise Gaines, who fell inside the home where both of them lived.
The solicitor's office wrote that EMS and paramedics discovered Ms. Gaines had fallen four days before they got the call, and she had not moved or been given adequate care during that time.
Officials said Gaines' mother eventually died from her injuries on January 17, 2018, at the Cottingham Hospice House in Seneca. Her death was classified as a homicide. An autopsy was performed on Gaines one day following her death. Autopsy results showed that she died from medical complications secondary to her fall and neglect by a family member in providing her assistance.
Mack Adams Gaines was arrested after he made the phone call. WSPA reported that Gaines then faced upgraded charges of abuse and neglect following the death of his mother. A deputy of Oconee County responded to Oconee Memorial Hospital at the request of paramedics, who reported a possible case of elder abuse involving the 92-year-old woman.
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Mack Adams Gaines spent time in prison before
The release said that Gaines' mother had been lying on the floor of their home since December 15. Gaines' case was turned over to the Criminal Investigations Division of the sheriff's office. The investigation revealed that Mack Gaines knew his mom Alma Louise was lying on the floor, but he did not help her. Gaines was released on December 21, 2017, on a $20,000 bond.
The 62-year-old Seneca man was found guilty and sentenced to two decades in prison. This is not the first time that Gaines has been sent to jail. According to Deputy Solicitor Jason Alderman, Gaines has a criminal record. WSNW Radio reported that Gaines spent time in prison in 1981 for killing a service station operator in Seneca.
