The South Carolina Supreme Court has thrown out the conviction of a woman charged with homicide after she used cocaine during her pregnancy and gave birth to a stillborn child, the Associated Press reported May 13.

The state's highest court ordered a new trial for Regina McKnight, who was sentenced to 12 years in prison in 2001. The court said that a new trial was warranted because of errors made by McKnight's attorneys, such as failing to introduce the baby's autopsy report into evidence and failing to rebut the medical expert put on the stand by the prosecution.

McKnight's first trial, in which her attorneys called a cardiac pathologist to rebut the testimony against her, ended in a mistrial because of juror misconduct. She was convicted in a second trial when her lawyers did not recall that expert or "any other expert to rebut or discredit the medical studies cited by the State's experts," wrote Chief Justice Jean Toal in the unanimous decision to overturn McKnight's conviction.

Rauch Wise, McKnight's current attorney, said that the state should have to prove beyond a reasonable doubt that cocaine killed the woman's unborn child to win a conviction. "They should have to be able to show the metabolized cocaine caused the death, not just rule out other factors," Wise said.

"Justice is a constant struggle, and low-income pregnant women of color who have drug problems are always going to be an easy political target," said Lynn Paltrow of National Advocates for Pregnant Women. "We hope that this puts her case and other cases like it to rest so we can focus on recovery."