Punishment Varies in Newborn Deaths; Mothers Convicted in Killings Can Get Probation or Life in Prison

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Punishment varies in newborn deaths

Mothers convicted in killings can get probation or life in prison

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Punishment Varies in Newborn Deaths; Mothers Convicted in Killings Can Get Probation or Life in Prison

A year ago, when a Racine woman was sentenced to nine months in jail for killing her baby, there was outrage.

Sandra Joncas, then 42, had stabbed her daughter to death minutes after giving birth in her bathroom.

A sentencing report recommended she be sent to prison for at least 30 years. But the judge, citing evidence of Joncas' "severe mental disorder," chose the jail term.

For mothers convicted in the deaths of their newborns, that sentence is light -- but by no means rare -- according to a Journal Sentinel analysis.

At the sa...

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