Pubdate: Sat, 03 May 2003
Source: Spartanburg Herald Journal (SC)
Copyright: 2003 The Spartanburg Herald-Journal
Contact:  http://www.goupstate.com/
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/977
Author: Tom Langhorne

SOLICITOR: WOMAN'S COCAINE USE KILLED FETUS

In a rare but not unprecedented move, 7th Circuit prosecutors are pursuing a
homicide by child abuse or neglect charge against a woman who they believe
killed her unborn child by using cocaine.

The charge against Angela Shannette Kennedy, 28, comes more than four years
after the stillborn delivery of her daughter on Dec. 11, 1998. Kennedy, who
was eight months into her pregnancy at the time, also is charged with
unlawful neglect by legal custodian.

South Carolina is one of the few states in the union that allows prosecutors
to pursue homicide charges against women whom they believe killed their
viable fetuses by taking cocaine.

In January, the state Supreme Court upheld the May 2001 conviction of Conway
resident Regina McKnight, who had been found guilty by a jury on a charge of
homicide by child abuse in connection with the death of her stillborn
daughter. McKnight, who had ingested cocaine while pregnant, was sentenced
to 12 years in prison after jurors took just 10 minutes to convict her.

The Supreme Court made such prosecutions possible in 1996 when it ruled that
a viable fetus is considered a child and that women can be charged if they
ingest drugs after their fetuses become viable.

Since then, prosecutions in such cases have been rare, with most offenders
ending up on probation with drug treatment. Prosecutors in the McKnight case
argued that the difference was she never tried to get help.

To convict Kennedy, 7th Circuit prosecutors will have to prove she acted
with extreme indifference to her unborn child's life when she took cocaine.

Solicitor Trey Gowdy declined to say how long prosecutors believe Kennedy
took cocaine while pregnant with daughter Doretha Alberta Kennedy-Miller,
but the unlawful neglect indictment accuses her of placing the child at
unreasonable risk of harm between May 1998 and the death in December 1998.

If convicted on both charges against her, Kennedy could be sentenced to as
many as 30 years in prison.

It is clear that authorities knew they had a possible criminal case from the
beginning -- but not as clear why it took four years for charges to
materialize.

A Spartanburg Public Safety Department incident report dated Dec. 11, 1998,
states that a doctor reported Kennedy told him she had smoked crack cocaine
within days of the stillbirth.

The report states that then-police Sgt. Richard Banks said he would notify
the 7th Circuit Solicitor's Office of the possible criminal case. Blood
samples would be sent to the South Carolina Law Enforcement Division, the
report states, "to see if the baby's death was a result of the mother's drug
abuse."

Coroner Jim Burnett acknowledged Friday that Spartanburg Regional Medical
Center staff reported the death to him for investigation because state law
requires it in the cases of all violent or suspicious deaths. Burnett said
police took a statement from Kennedy.

Pathologist Dr. David Wren performed an autopsy on the stillborn child on
the day of its death, Burnett said.

On June 17, 1999, Burnett said, he received SLED's report and immediately
passed it on to Wren. The results: The stillborn child's blood showed the
presence of .11 milligrams per liter of cocaine, while her brain showed
"positive" results for cocaine.

But Burnett said he did not receive Wren's autopsy report until Jan. 10 --
more than four years after the child's death.

The coroner declined to discuss Wren's conclusions, saying Wren will testify
about that when and if the case comes to trial. He said it is "definitely
unusual" for a pathologist to take four years to issue an autopsy report,
but Wren will testify about that, too.

Attempts to reach Wren for comment were unsuccessful.

Burnett said he called prosecutors, police and Wren to his office on Feb.
27.

Gowdy, who was present for that meeting, declined to discuss the physical
evidence against Kennedy, other than to say he had other pathologists
examine it before deciding to pursue charges.

Police Capt. Randy Hardy, who also participated in the meeting in Burnett's
office, said he never did learn why it took four years to issue an autopsy
report.

"That's a good one, because we wanted to know the same thing," Hardy said.
"We can't do anything until we get that autopsy report back. We would have
loved to have it sooner."

Hardy said police probably did make inquiries about the report while they
were waiting for it, but they also accept the fact that it can take a long
time to carry out the necessary investigations.

"Even so, four years is a long time for someone to make a decision," he
said.
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