Mistrial in Meth Breast-Milk Murder Case June 26, 2006
News Summary
A California jury has deadlocked 6-6 in the case of a woman accused of murdering her infant son by feeding him breast milk containing methamphetamine, the Associated Press reported June 22.
Amy Leanne Prien was charged with murder in connection with the death of her three-month-old son, Jacob Wesley Smith, in January 2002. Prosecutors said that Prien continued to nurse her child after smoking meth even though she knew it could be dangerous.
Prien was convicted of murder in 2003, but an appeals court overturned the verdict because of problems with the jury instructions and ordered a new trial.
A blood test administered after Jacob's death found potentially lethal levels of meth in Prien's blood, but her attorney said the prosecutor relied on "make-believe" science and never tested Prien's breast milk.
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