Texas court dumps woman's death sentence (Outrage Alert)

Associated Press ^ | May 23, 2007 | Michael Graczyk

[Zakeet]

A sharply divided appeals court on Wednesday threw out the death sentence of a woman convicted of killing her newborn son.

The court upheld the woman's conviction, but it said prosecutors misstated to jurors her likelihood of being a future danger to society before deliberations began on the sentence.

Lawyers for the woman, Kenisha Berry, argued that she had no previous criminal record, and defense experts testified that she posed a low risk of being a future danger.

The 5-4 ruling from the Texas Court of Criminal Appeals means Berry will serve a life term for the 1998 smothering death of 4-day-old Malachi, who was found abandoned and bound with duct tape in a trash bin.

The case went unsolved for five years until Berry was identified as the mother of a newborn girl found alive but abandoned and covered with fire ants in a ditch in 2003.

Berry, a former corrections officer and day care worker, consented to DNA testing that confirmed she also was the mother of the boy.

A jury in Beaumont convicted Berry of murder and sentenced her to death.

[Zakeet]

This photo released by the Texas Department of Criminal Justice shows death row inmate Kenisha Berry, of Beaumont, Texas, who was convicted of killing her newborn son in 1988. The Texas Court of Criminal Appeals threw out the death sentence on Wednesday, May 22, 2007, and Berry will be serving a life prison term for the smothering death of her infant, Malachi, who was found abandoned and bound with duct tape when he was discovered in a Jefferson County trash bin."

The court: "She's unlikely to be a future danger to society"

Berry: Later abandoned her newborn daughter in a ditch - alive but covered with fire ants.

[dighton]

... a former corrections officer and day care worker ...

Cripes.

[kalee]

How old is she?
How long will she serve?
And will she be past child bearing age when she gets out?

This woman should never have another child!

[MindBender26]

>>>>The court upheld the woman’s conviction, but it said prosecutors misstated to jurors her likelihood of being a future danger to society before deliberations began on the sentence.

>>>>Lawyers for the woman, Kenisha Berry, argued that she had no previous criminal record, and defense experts testified that she posed a low risk of being a future danger.

Legal idiocy.

The SA has no obligation to be correct in predicting the future. He made his argument before the jury; the defense made theirs. The jury agreed with the SA. End of caee.

There was no error of law here. Just another BS court setting itself up as a “super jury.”

[Racehorse]

. . . threw out the death sentence of a woman convicted of killing her newborn son.

Berry was identified as the mother of a newborn girl found alive but abandoned and covered with fire ants in a ditch in 2003.

The court . . . said prosecutors misstated to jurors her likelihood of being a future danger to society before deliberations began on the sentence.

Might someone explain to me what I'm missing here?

[MindBender26]

The legal argument to exclude any consideration of the second event would be that when the SA made his argument, the future attempted killing had not occurred....

Shakespeare was right.

[incredulous joe]

Wow! Duct tape. Fire Ants.

If this lady doesn’t deserve capital punishment,....who does?

I hope there is some justice on the cell block.

[Cicero]

“Not a future danger,” after doing it TWICE over a considerable period of time?

[teletech]

Planned Parenthood’s Mother of the Year no doubt.

[GovernmentShrinker]

Not to mention a history of working in daycare . . .

Nope, no danger there < /s>

[Chode]

she's prolly not any danger to society at large, BUT...

she's DEFINITELY a danger to any future children she might have.

this ain't yer Daddy's Texas anymore.

[dennisw]

She needs to be recycled.

[ApplegateRanch]

So, if I kill or attempt to kill a couple of prostitutes, and get caught after 5 years, but have “no previous record”, a Tex-ass court would agree that I posed only a low risk of future offense, so would spare me?

Or does this only work for baby killing mommies, performing post-delivery abortions?