CONVICTION OVERTURNED MA - Alissa Pugh charged in death of newborn, Milford, Jan 2007

[Melly53]

Alissa Pugh, a Milford Massachusetts woman convicted of involuntary manslaughter in connection with the death of her newborn son was sentenced on Monday to two and a half years behind bars and five years probation in the death of her child.

http://www.thebostonchannel.com/cnn-news/19428528/detail.html

In 2007, her newborn baby's body was found in the back of a garbage truck. Pugh, 29, delivered a baby boy in January 2007 in her Milford house and then put the baby in a bag and into a trash can. A garbage collector found the baby's remains after dumping the trash from her Milford house.

Last January, Pugh was convicted of involuntary manslaughter and improper disposal of a body. Combined sentences threatened to put her behind bars for 20 years.

Her attorney asked Monday that she be put on probation with the GPS bracelet. A forensic psychologist told the judge that during birth Pugh suffered from chronic anxiety and episodes of depression. He said she went through a phase of depersonalization.

"She retreats into this depersonalized state," her attorney said. "In her mind she has not done anything wrong."


Commonwealth of Massachusetts vs. Alissa Pugh- MEMORANDUM OF DECISION AND ORDER

http://www.sociallaw.com/slip.htm?cid=18893&sid=121


What the he## is wrong with our justice system? This makes me sick! :furious: Be sure to check out the video on the right hand side of the page on the first link--she is a real winner! Not!!!!!

 

[Kymistry35]

She should have gotten everyone of those 20 years plus 20 more!!

 

[southcitymom]

Wow - it was very hard to read the birthing scene the Judge describes in detail in the Memorandum of Decision and Order. When this woman went into the bathroom to deliver by herself, her baby presented breech, feet first, and she had to pull and scrape with her hands to get the child through the birth canal and out of her. I can't imagine that.

While the Judge found that the pulling and pressure she exerted in trying to get the baby to pass did cause the child's death, the Judge also found that the Prosecution was unable to prove beyond a reasonable doubt that the child was alive after being delivered. The Judge did find that the woman's decision to not seek help in delivering when she first discovered the breech presentation was wanton and reckless.

Very sad story. I have great compassion for the woman and for the infant. The findings are that she did not set out to kill the child or mean to kill the child. I think the Judge made a wise decision.

 

[Mama Bear]

Here is a link from are local paper:
http://www.berkshireeagle.com/ci_12339162?source=most_viewed

Pugh told investigators she thought she was only three months pregnant and possibly having a miscarriage when she delivered the baby while sitting on the toilet in January 2007. She was indicted later that year on charges that her failure to seek medical attention led to the baby's death.

This is just so so sad I feel she deserved each and everyone of those 20yrs. Sorry but Ive had 4 children and 2 loses. There's a great big difference in giving birth and having a miscarriage. If the birth was that trying than she should have called for help. What was her intention if the baby survived the birth. I guess I just don't understand what is wrong with people these days.

 

[Melly53]

This was "not" this woman's first pregnancy or birthing experience as she does have an older child. She supposedly intentionally hid her pregnancy and made public statements that she and her boyfriend were not going to have any more children even though she was pregnant at the time. She supposedly took a home pregnancy test in April then later claimed that her last period was in August and the baby was born in January yet she said that she thought that she was only three months pregnant. Sorry but in doing the math things don't add up. I am not buying it!! I am still trying to figure out how she managed the birth unassisted. IIRC there was air found in the baby's lungs which leads me to believe that he was alive when he was born then died of the injuries inflicted by the mother during the birth.

I sincerely believe that she did not want this child which IMO is why she hid her pregnancy and delivered in secret then disposed of the child's body in the trash rather than calling for help. My compassion is with the dead baby but I have none for the mother because I belive that she knew exactly what she was doing. She should have gotten the full 20 years IMO. She dang well knew the difference between a 3 month old miscarriage and a 36-1/2 week old baby.

 

[Lovejac]

Here is a link from are local paper:
http://www.berkshireeagle.com/ci_12339162?source=most_viewed



This is just so so sad I feel she deserved each and everyone of those 20yrs. Sorry but Ive had 4 children and 2 loses. There's a great big difference in giving birth and having a miscarriage. If the birth was that trying than she should have called for help. What was her intention if the baby survived the birth. I guess I just don't understand what is wrong with people these days.

Amen, Mama Bear! You DO NOT have to pull and scrape a 3 month miscarriage out of the birth canal!

 

[OkieGranny]

From June 2012:

http://www.milforddailynews.com/x83...ds-Allissa-Pugh-whose-baby-was-found-in-trash

The state’s highest court yesterday threw out the manslaughter conviction of a Milford woman whose nearly full-term baby was found dead in January 2007 by trash collectors...

The SJC reversed the conviction, ruling that prosecutors had not proven that the baby was born alive or that calling for medical help would have saved his life. There was not enough evidence to show that Pugh’s failure to call for help was the cause of the baby’s death, the decision read.