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Monday, October 10, 2011
Ind. Decisions - "In Indiana, ‘fetal homicide’ laws can add up to 20 years to manslaughter sentences"
That headline is from a story by Ashley Lopez in the Oct. 7, 2011 issue of The Florida Independent. The story begins:
As a “fetal homicide” bill makes it to the Florida Legislature, Indiana residents are seeing prison sentences extended up to 20 years for a similar law in their state.The Florida paper then quotes an Oct. 5, 2011 Fort Wayne Journal Gazette story, reported by Jeff Wiehe, that the ILB missed. Some quotes:Fetal homicide laws are currently on the books in 27 states; they are typically similar to a federal law that recognizes fetuses at all stages of development as victims. These laws are typically championed by anti-abortion advocates, and opposed by civil rights and reproductive rights advocates. Florida has recently introduced a piece legislation that would put a fetal homicide law in place here.
A typical murder charge carries a sentence of 45 to 65 years in prison. By Indiana law, though, anyone who is convicted of murder in the killing of a pregnant woman is subject to six to 20 extra years of imprisonment if that killing also terminates the pregnancy. * * *Here is some background on the Indiana law, from earlier ILB entries:James Voyles, White’s Indianapolis-based defense attorney, objected to the witnesses and argued that the state law, as written, is unconstitutional.
The law, which took effect in 2009 after a pregnant bank teller in Indianapolis lost her unborn children in a shooting during a robbery, does not require the perpetrator to know the victim is pregnant to be applied.
“It prevents an individual in that circumstance to have a reasonable defense,” Voyles told the jury Tuesday morning.
Unlike Monday, when jurors deliberated for nearly six hours in deciding White’s guilt of murder, it took only a few minutes for them to return a decision that his wife was indeed pregnant and that he should face an enhanced prison sentence.
- Feb. 1, 2009. "Two Indiana legislators want longer sentence for killing fetus"
- April 22, 2009. "Updated feticide bill returns to state Senate"
- May 26, 2011. COA opinion in Brian Kendrick v. State of Indiana. Footnote 8: "In 2009, our legislature resolved double jeopardy problems like the one presented in this case by adding IC 35-50-2-16. This statute allows the State to seek an additional fixed term of imprisonment of between six and twenty years when the State can show beyond a reasonable doubt that the defendant, while committing or attempting to commit murder, caused the termination of a human pregnancy."
Posted by Marcia Oddi on October 10, 2011 01:42 PM
Posted to Ind. Trial Ct. Decisions