A Chinese immigrant allegedly ingested rat poison to kill herself and her eighth-month-old fetus following a break up with her boyfriend in December of 2010. The woman is now facing murder charges as prosecutors argue that a suicide note the woman wrote, naming that both were to die, is evidence of murder, as reported by the Huffington Post.
At the time of the failed suicide attempt doctors rescued B.B.S., 36, and deemed the fetus healthy. However, after giving birth to A.S. on New Year's Eve, the baby only survived three days before dying from bleeding in her brain.
The hospital staff reported B.B.S. to the police and, after being treated for depression, police charged her in with murder and feticide in March of 2011.
While awaiting the start of her trial this April in Marion County, B.B.S.'s case has gathered both sympathy and attention. Women's rights groups, in particular, are concerned that the outcome of B.B.S.'s case could affect the rights of pregnant women in the state of Indiana.
In regards to B.B.S.'s case, there is one section of the law that applies: When a person "knowingly or intentionally kills a fetus that has attained viability commits murder." However, the section preceding this statement is written in regards to one person attacking another person.
B.B.S.'s lawyer, Linda Pence, is arguing that the law refers to a person who attacks a pregnant woman and kills the fetus during the attack. Pence believes that "For 200 years in Indiana history, murder has always been the murder of one person by another person."
Pence filed a motion to dismiss the case, arguing that the law was not intended to apply to a pregnant woman but only to those that attacked a pregnant woman. Pence said, "It's clear that the purpose of the bill was to get people who try to kill pregnant women."
A week before Pence filed her motion prosecutors asked Judge Sheila Carlisle to prevent B.B.S.'s lawyer from questioning witnesses in a manner that may make people sympathetic to her. One such witness, a friend of B.B.S.'s, testified that after her newborn was removed from all life support B.B.S. openly wept.
The prosecution has also asked the judge to bar the wearing of buttons, which express concern about B.B.S., from the courtroom. Furthermore, the prosecution asked that defense attorneys not be allowed to ask witnesses what their personal religious beliefs are.
Commenting on the case, Shawn Boyne, an expert on trial procedure and a professor with the Indiana University Robert H. McKinney School of Law, said that the motions made by the prosecution are considered "standard" and that "in some cases, merely asking a question may plant a question in a juror's mind."
The prosecutor's official spokeswoman, Peg McLeish, said, "We don't want to try this case in the media. We feel the case is best handled in the courtroom on its merits."
An experienced criminal defense attorney will file all of the motions needed to guarantee you the fairest trial possible. Invest in your future when you contact a criminal defense attorney to defend you in a court of law.
