California Attorney General Xavier Becerra on Friday sought to end the prosecution of a woman charged with murder after delivering a stillborn child with “toxic levels of methamphetamine” in its system.
Chelsea Cheyenne Becker, 26, of Hanford, Calif., delivered a stillborn child at the hospital on Sept. 10, 2019. After medical professionals and family members told police Becker may have used drugs while pregnant, the Kings County Coroner's Office conducted an autopsy and ruled the death a homicide due to “toxic levels of methamphetamine” in the baby's system.
She was arrested in November 2019 on murder charges and has remained jailed on a $5 million bond for the past 10 months awaiting trial. A superior court denied Becker’s motion to dismiss the charges on June 4.
CALIFORNIA MOM OF 3 ARRESTED AFTER GIVING BIRTH TO STILLBORN WITH 'TOXIC LEVELS OF METH' IN SYSTEM
In an amicus brief filed on Friday, Becerra argued that Kings County District Attorney Keith L. Fagundes misinterpreted California Penal Code Section 187 by charging Becker weeks after the stillbirth.
“Today we filed an amicus brief supporting Chelsea Becker's appeal, because we believe the law was misapplied and misinterpreted,” Becerra said in a statement. “Section 187 of the California Penal Code was intended to protect pregnant women from harm, not charge them with murder.
“Our laws in California do not convict women who suffer the loss of their pregnancy, and in our filing today we are making clear that this law has been misused to the detriment of women, children, and families. We will work to end the prosecution and imprisonment of Ms. Becker so we can focus on applying this law... (Read more)
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