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Mom Punches Son During Anger Management Class

By Andrew Chow, Esq. on February 20, 2012 | Last updated on March 21, 2019

A Kentucky mom allegedly punched her 10-year-old son in the face during an anger-management counseling session, and her children have been placed in foster care.

Misty Lawson, 30, of Louisville, admitted to the website The Smoking Gun she "smacked" her son twice because he called her the "b" word. "They make it sound like I beat my child like an adult," Lawson complained.

The boy suffered a bruise on his face and "redness to the eye," a police report states. The alleged child assault happened at Lawson's home, where a counselor was supposed to conduct an anger-management session with the angry mom.

Lawson, it seems, has a history of lashing out.

Misty Lawson's court records include prior arrests and prosecutions for resisting arrest and menacing, according to The Smoking Gun. Menacing is an act that is purposefully intended to instill fear in someone, like brandishing a weapon. It can also include ongoing acts, such as stalking.

Records also reveal Lawson's prior arrests for contempt of court, receiving stolen property, and marijuana possession, The Smoking Gun reports.

Lawson's most recent arrest in June also involved her children and questionable parenting skills. She and a male companion left two children, then ages 9 and 12, unattended in the back seat of a hot car outside a supermarket, Louisville's WDRB-TV reported. Lawson and her companion were charged with wanton endangerment and endangering the welfare of a minor.

It's not clear how that case was resolved, but Lawson apparently had custody of her now-10-year-old son when she allegedly punched him Feb. 4. The anger-management session may have been part of a court order from a prior case.

Misty Lawson faces a misdemeanor charge of assault (child abuse) for allegedly punching her son in the face during anger-management counseling. She's set to appear in court this week.

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