Mom gets 8 years for giving baby methadone

[tre2005be]

taken from http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20060711/...e_infant_death

DUNDALK, Md. - A woman who gave her infant daughter methadone to keep her from fussing was sentenced to eight years in prison for causing the baby's death.

Gina M. Camponeschi, 35, pleaded guilty to involuntary homicide in May. Her daughter, Adriana, was born last July addicted to heroin and cocaine because the mother used drugs during her pregnancy, prosecutors said. The newborn spent 30 days in the hospital for detoxification.
On the morning of Sept. 11, 23 days after Adriana was released into her mother's care, Camponeschi gave the infant "enough methadone to coat her tongue" to stop her crying, defense attorney Robert J. Feldman said at the sentencing hearing Monday.
The methadone, which is used to treat heroin addiction, had been prescribed for Camponeschi.
"Ms. Camponeschi's mindset was that this baby was suffering withdrawal from drugs," Feldman said. "She is an experienced user of recreational drugs and is familiar with withdrawal."
Later that morning, Camponeschi found her daughter pale, cold and not moving. The medical examiner said the baby died of methadone intoxication and ruled the death a homicide.
Feldman asked Baltimore County Circuit Court Judge Timothy Martin to sentence his client to treatment rather than prison, but prosecutor John Magee noted Camponeschi had left treatment programs four times over the years without completing them.
"If there's any greater wake-up call, I don't know what it is — the death of her own child at her own hand," Magee said.

Reputation Comments on this post:

good post

[Benzeneringz]

It's so strange, in my hometown (which is a little blip on the Indiana map) a mother got imprisioned for giving her baby methadone which resulted in it's death. I would of never imagined a similar situation to occur anywhere else. Bizarre.

[tre2005be]

its sickening enough to think it happened once never mind twice.

[adzket]

a few months back a two yr old died in scotland from a methadone o.d. its all very wrong i don't know full story but makes you wonder as methadone is only avalible in child proff containers.

[tre2005be]

it doesn't make me wonder it makes me feel sick to my stomach that any one would let there child near bottles of any medicine never mind dose their children on them, sickening is the only word i can find to describe it...

[jesusfreak666er]

They should execute people that poor of parenting... 8 years isnt enough in swims opinion but maybe im being too harsh...swim doesnt think so though

Reputation Comments on this post:

well said point... also in your signature... its "scoring real good drugs" im a huge nofx fan. herojuana rocks...

[old hippie 56]

Originally Posted by jesusfreak666er

They should execute people that poor of parenting... 8 years isnt enough in swims opinion but maybe im being too harsh...swim doesnt think so though

No, not harsh enough, what the difference between this senseless death and your average murder. It is a damn shame that supplying medicial marijuana to the sick and dying will get you life, but killing a baby will get you 8 years.

[tre2005be]

Originally Posted by old hippie 56

No, not harsh enough, what the difference between this senseless death and your average murder. It is a damn shame that supplying medicial marijuana to the sick and dying will get you life, but killing a baby will get you 8 years.

couldn't agree more.

[Micklemouse]

Originally Posted by jesusfreak666er

They should execute people that poor of parenting... 8 years isnt enough in swims opinion but maybe im being too harsh...swim doesnt think so though

Jesusfreak, sorry to pick your post, but shall we all take a step back & read the original story again?

The baby was born an addict. The mother, it seems, still is. The baby spent 30 days detoxing. The mother didn't. The mother it seems still thought the baby was withdrawing, or at least still craving - a potentially valid leap of logic to this mind, so she did a stupid thing to try & ease her daughters discomfort - she could easily have thrown the baby against the wall out of frustration with not being able to quiet her, a much more common response. My question is - what information was the mother given about what to expect when caring for a baby, never mind a detoxed baby? Where were Social Services, or whatever the U.S. equivalent is called during this? What, if any, support was she given?

If this was not such an emotive issue people would be crying 'War on Drugs! Boo!'. As it is people are crying 'Evil hick mummy! Burn in hell!'. The real culprit here is lack of provision, lack of support, lack of education. This woman should have been highlighted as a high risk from the start, having, as many recovering addicts do, left several treatment programs. She should have been watched like a hawk & been offered/given much more care & support in bringing up her baby, which may have prevented this tragedy. Unfortunately, this costs money, & we all know where the money actually goes...

As it is this just lends more ammunition to the enforced sterilisation lobby, and given the responses I've seen so far, it may only be a matter of time before it becomes a reality. Many addicts become amazing parents, some screw up. This woman screwed up amazingly, but whose fault was it?

Reputation Comments on this post:

Good point

[tre2005be]

mickelmouse that kind of attitude is what is making the world a crap place to live in. so are you saying its someone else's fault she became an addict? are you saying someone else gave her baby methadone? are you saying she couldn't of got information she needed, if she had wanted to? she should take responsibility for her own actions, as should every other person on the planet. How can you try and take away the sickness of the action she has performed and blame it on the government, what a load of crap!

(p.s sorry if this comes across as a flame or that i am having a go at you, its just that i strongly disagree with your opinion on this subject.)

[fatal]

and if they catch you selling LSD... well... you might as well have eaten a baby... hmmm swim may have said that before... have to check on it... and the rambling begins...

yea thats it... the original infantiphagia/LSD rant went on here http://www.drugs-forum.com/forum/showthread.php?t=17527

cheers :

this all is only important because it goes to prove the point that was made back then that killing/eating a baby was better legally than selling LSD. at least as far as sentencing. that is fucked up and sick... almost as sick as... (oven dings) oooh dinners ready... baby a la baby

disclaimer: at this time the poster feels it is only polite to apologize to anyone he may have offended by his repeated reference to baby mutilation and consumption even though its only natural some people still dont understand...

[Micklemouse]

Tre, I completely understand your sentiment, & agree with you on many points, especially on the taking responsibility for ones actions argument - too many addicts don't - and I in no way meant to detract from the fact that this is an horrific story, & the fact that what the mother did is in no way justifiable. I'm not saying that anyone other than the mother is responsible for what she did. What I am saying is that this scenario is symptomatic of the fact that society is already crap, that resources are badly managed, that if the Government was serious about avoiding tragedies such as these then adequate provision for support would be made, people wouldn't be cast adrift once their medical insurance ran out, the social situation that makes a junky - unemployment, deprivation, bad education, no access to decent health care or counselling to deal with whatever pain is there to start with that makes a person self-medicate with smack or coke to the level that it seriously impairs their judgement to this extent. There are always many factors in a story like this, & to judge a person evil without considering them is dangerous, & to my mind, is what is making society crap. If you've read some of my other posts you'll know that I am far from being an apologist for addicts.

What I was trying to do was look at a slightly larger picture, & get away from the lynch-mob mentality that seems to spring up when a story like this appears.

Not everyone is in the privileged position of having access to the information needed to conduct their habits safely & responsibly. Not everyone has the ability to conduct their habits or deal with their issues without support. While your tapping away in your little bubble, take a moment to imagine what it's like to be an addicted mother - fuck it, any mother! - on their own with a screaming child that doesn't respond to any comfort offered, with no one to turn to to have a break, who probably is scared to call out for help because she is mortally afraid of losing possibly the best thing that ever happened to her (which tragically happened anyway, in part as a consequence of the situation she found herself in). Ultimately the responsibility for this lies at the mother's hands. However, every story has a beginning, middle & end. We don't know the full story, & until we do, if we ever do (which I doubt), then we have to look a little wider than tabloid reactivism in our analysis. The beginning of this story lies in the fact that for too many years funds have been channelled to the military & law enforcement, rather than looking after & educating the people who need it. I'm not saying that would automatically solve the ills of society, or even stopped this tragedy from happenning - I'm not that naive! - but you've got to agree that it would have lessened the chances.

Reputation Comments on this post:

like your way of thinkin even if i dont completely agree with it - tre

[hh339]

I'm not really sure where I stand in this, but I do know one thing: Sending her to prison aint gonna do shit in favour of the world compared to what some good information and treatment would. I do believe that this woman should be punished for this, but I don't see the point in her doing hard time as she is not guilty of cold-blooded murder, even if it may seem like she is. If this article is not misleading, this was clearly an accident where a mother lost her child because she did not understand the seriousness of her actions. What can be worse than living with the knowledge of having caused your own baby's death?? That would be far worse than being locked up for some time. Besides, they DO have an excess of drugs in prisons too.

Question 1: Will time behind bars in a scary and most likely very hostile environment educate and treat this woman so that she can change and get on with her life, with better knowledge which she can use to help herself and other addicted souls lost in the big strange world? Or...

Question 2: Will time behind bars in a scary and most likely very hostile environment break this already broken woman even more, resulting in her running from reality faster than before, just feeding the fire of (self-)destruction even more?

I feel very sorry for her and the baby, as well as I feel very frustrated and angry. But even if it was her hand that lit the match, does not mean that she was aware of the gasoline. I'm sorry if I am upsetting anyone, but I just don't believe in burning witches.

[tre2005be]

i agree with you that there is a bigger picture in there somewhere, and that alot of problems in todays society (espescially drug related ones) could be solved with government funding, however what she has has done is wrong, very wrong. No amount of background history can change that, i know people from some of the roughest estates in the UK and some of them have never touched drugs or harmed a hair on another human beings head. So the point i am trying to make is that in my opinion you cant try and say that the government could of prevented it, or that if she had better access to information she may of not committed this crime. She has committed this crime and she has to be punished. Right and wrong is very simple and requires little information or intelligence.

to hh339

your probably right that sending her to prison is not the right thing to do, and
unfortunately the second conclusion that you have predicted is probably the outcome that will happen.

but this brings up a different question. if not prison then what? no punishement at all and just rehabilitation cant possibly set a good example for society. thats conveying the message that if you didn't intend to do something wrong then it is alright even if you do, which i do not agree with at all. And it also sets the example that you can blame all your problems on someone or in this case something else. the sad truth is there isn't an alternative and effective way of dealing with problems like this apart from prison. If there was then in the last 8000 yeasr of society someone would of thought of it and implemented it.

(once again sorry if this sounds like a flame but it isn't i'm just trying to express my opinion on this matter)

[hh339]

Originally Posted by tre2005be

your probably right that sending her to prison is not the right thing to do, and
unfortunately the second conclusion that you have predicted is probably the outcome that will happen.

but this brings up a different question. if not prison then what?

Yes, and if you ask me, this is exactly the question that NEEDS to be brought up, and it's good you did. Prison could very well be a good thing in this case, but only in combination with other actions that are not all about punishment. If prison should even be considered, then the person being sent there should not be in such a bad condition that they cannot use their time in there to reflect in a positive way. I think that many times when we believe we are punishing someone, we are actually punishing ourselves in the long run. The idea of sending people to prison is supposed to be beneficial to society and mankind, and still this "rehabilitation" in prison mostly ends up having a reversed effect. I don't have any perfect solutions to share with you, but something has got to change.

[tre2005be]

i know that they do try and rehabilitate people like this whilst they are inside, unfortunately though, prison is no longer (in my opinion) meant for rehabilitation, but is put there in society as a detterant.

[hh339]

tre2005be, you mean drug rehabilitation? That just won't work in a big prison full of drugs, even if the idea of helping addicted persons to quit using (if they want to) is a nice idea.

[tre2005be]

i meant rehabilitation into becoming a useful and respectable member of soceity.