According to several news sources, Tiffany Woods, a mother from New Orleans who was found guilty of second-degree murder for giving her infant cow’s milk after escaping Hurricane Katrina, has been recommended for release from a Louisiana jail.
According to the Associated Press and the Times-Picayune/The New Orleans Advocate, Woods, who requested her release on Monday after serving 17 years in prison, received a unanimous decision from the Louisiana pardon board to be let free.
For her part in the death of her 5-month-old baby, Emmanuel, in November 2005, Woods, who is now 43, is currently serving a life sentence. The infant died from starvation, according to the prosecution, because Woods, who also has three other children, fed him cow’s milk rather than baby formula.
Just a few months before Hurricane Katrina hit the Gulf Coast, destroying New Orleans and causing widespread relocation, Woods’ baby was delivered prematurely in June 2005. According to the Advocate, Woods was not informed of the severity of the disease until her kid was released from the hospital. The infant, who weighed little over 3 lbs., was diagnosed with a genetic anomaly.
Prior to the hurricane, Woods and her family made the decision to move more than 300 miles from New Orleans to Shreveport, according to the publication. However, this is where problems with the baby’s formula intake started.
He wasn’t swallowing the formula he was taking. He was frequently throwing up, and when our WIC (food) vouchers ran out, I made the decision to switch. I substituted organic milk. She told the parole board this week, according to the Advocate, “I believed he was doing better, but he wasn’t prospering.
Woods asserted that she had been depressed and stressed at the time.
She reportedly said, “My family wasn’t around me,” according to the outlet. “I wasn’t sure if they were still alive.” And due of my bad decisions, my son lost his life.
Despite his failing health, according to the prosecution, the infant was not sent to the doctor; as a result, the kid died in November 2005 from malnutrition, according to the AP.
The risk of intestinal bleeding in children who first consume cow’s milk before becoming 12 months old is increased, according to the Centers for Disease Control (CDC). Cow’s milk is deficient in the nutrients a newborn needs to thrive and contains too many proteins and minerals for a baby’s kidneys to process.
According to the publications, Woods and the father of the child, Emmanuel Scott, were found guilty of second-degree murder in 2006 and were given life sentences. Scott was 18 years old and Woods was 25 at the time.
The couple’s attorney at trial, Suzanne Ellis, argued against Woods’ release.
According to the AP, Ellis stated, “I will go to my grave remembering this baby.” The most pathetic thing I have seen in 26 years was this baby. Don’t give her a chance to be released, please. Don’t give her a chance to hurt another child; if she can, I have no doubt that she would.
According to the Advocate, Woods claimed that since then, she has evolved as a person and that she attended classes on parenting, anger control, and trauma therapy while inside.
Woods was described as a “low-risk, low-need” prisoner by Kristen Thomas, a warden at the Louisiana Correctional Institute for Women in Baker, according to the AP.
Governor John Bel Edwards will now decide if Woods’ sentence will be commuted.
