Certainly, her defense attorney argued during her trial for endangering the welfare of a child, his client had a moral obligation to try to save the boy. But, he continued, she did not have a legal one. The jurors judging Ms. Newkirk's case obviously disagreed when they convicted her in July. Last week, the Hollidaysburg woman was sentenced to up to 18 months in jail.
So, basically, she was convicted of not sacrificing herself...but the FATHER, who was right there and not taking care of his child, plea bargained down to reckless endangerment in exchange for testifying against her (which he ended up not having to do, but still...).
This is sick, sad, pathetic, and scary, all at the same time. If this became a precedent, you could end up doing time simply because you did not try to save someone's life, even if you wouldn't have been able to. Here's hoping this gets overturned.
