OAN’s Abril Elfi
5:44 PM – Thursday, April 18, 2024
A mother who admitted to fatally smothering her 2-month-old baby while being high on meth is now able to walk free after prosecution fails to prove intent to kill.
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Judge Mark Stoner found 32-year-old Dacia Lacey not guilty of neglect of a dependent resulting in the death of her daughter, Alona, in 2022.
According to a report by WTHR, Stoner is already under fire and facing calls for his resignation for having given a mentally ill man, who shot and killed a police officer, a sentence of time served.
The mom was cleared even though the judge told her it was “a case that happens when you’re a bad parent.”
“There are some things you can never do. You can never have sole possession of your children and go out and use drugs,” Stoner said. “You’re not innocent, but you’re not guilty of what the state has charged you with.”
Lacey was facing up to 40 years in prison if convicted.
Stoner said that there was no evidence to prove the charge Lacey was facing, which was neglect of a dependent resulting in death.
“Not everything that’s a mistake or everything that is wrong is criminal,” Stoner said. “Something has to be done with criminal intent and criminal responsibility, and that’s what the defendant is charged with. When the state chooses to charge an individual, they must prove they did something with criminal intent. Poor parenting, by definition, is not criminal.”
There was no indication of long-term abuse, such as fractured bones or other injuries that would indicate neglect of a dependent. Additionally, the pathologist was unable to identify the baby’s cause of death or mode of death.
“It’s important to understand that the prosecutor chooses the charges. It’s the prosecutor that’s elected. The prosecutor has a screening division to make decisions as to what should be charged,” Stoner added.
Court documents have stated that Lacey made a long confession to the police, sobbing as she described how, high on meth, she smothered her daughter to get her to stop crying so she could go to sleep.
Investigators discovered during the trial that Lacey’s other daughter, who was three years old when the baby died, saw her mother smother the infant with a pillow.
According to toxicology reports, the day Lacey’s baby died, methamphetamine was found in the mother’s system.
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