Child abuse or racism?

South Carolina teenager Alexander Draper is not your average kid. At 14, he reached 555 pounds.

By any standard, Draper is obese. But who's to blame for Alexander's obesity? According to police, it's his mom, Jerri Gray, who has been arrested and charged with unlawful neglect of a child, a felony count that carries a 10 year sentence.

"The first and foremost concern is Alexander's health," a law enforcement official told CBS News. Police said Alexander's mother should have put the boy in a treatment program.

But Gray, who is not a thin woman herself, said she cannot afford the treatment program. She said she has had to work two or three shifts a day to support her family and was not able to be home much of the time.

Gray apparently knew there was a problem and did at least once try to get help for her son. She was awarded a $30,000 scholarship to send her child to a special care center in North Carolina, but when they arrived they were turned away because her son was too big for the facility to handle his problem, according to Gray's lawyer.

"This is not a case of a mother force-feeding a child," said Grant Varner, a critic of the state's decision. "If she had been holding him down and force-feeding him, sure, I can understand. But she doesn't have the means to do it. She doesn't have the money to buy the food to do it."

Gray was shown on a CBS News report handcuffed and shackled as she appeared before a court official. In an interview after she was released from jail on bail, she said she has had no direct contact with her son.

Alexander, who is now in the custody of the Department of Social Services, is a part of two risk groups for obesity. He is black and he's a southerner.

South Carolina is the 7th fattest state in the union, according to recent surveys. In fact, six of the top 10 most obese states are in the south, the land of fried chicken, gravy and sweet tea. The south is the fattest region of America.

In addition, blacks are the most obese racial group in the country, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention in Atlanta. Nearly 36 percent of black Americans are obese, compared to 29 percent of Hispanics and 24 percent of whites, the CDC reported last month.

But is that an excuse? Not according to officials in South Carolina, where there are plenty of black kids who are not obese.

Still, one critic sees a troubling precedent in prosecuting the boy's mother in this case. "If Gray is found guilty, it will set a rather scary precedent," writes a blogger on YouTube. "If letting your kid eat too much is a crime, what should happen to parents of kids who are anorexic or bulimic? Or to parents of kids who get pregnant? Or to parents of kids who rob or kill someone? Yes, parents can influence their children. But at the end of the day, theyre not in the drivers seat." 

Is it paternalism or racism on the part of South Carolina authorities? Or is it child abuse on the part of a neglectful mother? As the public debate continues, the courts will soon get the final word.