Utah girl who pleaded no contest to trying to induce miscarriage released from jail

[MissFit]

Utah girl who pleaded no contest to trying to induce miscarriage released from jail

Associated Press
Last update: October 13, 2009 - 7:11 PM

VERNAL, Utah - A Utah teenager who pleaded no contest to hiring a man to beat her in an effort to induce a miscarriage has been released from jail after a judge ruled that she was seeking an abortion and was not criminally liable.

Eighth District Juvenile Court Judge Larry Steele called the girl's actions "shocking and crude" in a ruling last week, but said that under state law "a woman who solicits or seeks to have another cause an abortion of her own unborn child cannot be criminally liable."

The 17-year-old girl from Uintah County, who has not been identified because of her age, pleaded no contest in June to a second-degree felony count of criminal solicitation to commit murder. Steele had ordered the teen to be placed in the custody of Utah Juvenile Justice Services until she is 21.

The teen's mother got a new attorney, Rich King, who argued that under Utah law women cannot be held criminally liable for soliciting an abortion. Steele on Thursday granted King's motion to withdraw the girl's no contest plea and release her from detention.

Prosecutor Mike Drechsel told The Associated Press on Tuesday he had no comment.

Prosecutors said the girl paid Aaron Harrison, 21, $150 to beat her after her boyfriend threatened a breakup if she didn't get rid of the child. Court documents said Harrison brought the girl in May to his home, where he was accused of striking her and biting her, leaving bruises on her stomach and a bite mark on her neck.

King contends that the girl did not do what prosecutors allege and even if she had she would not be liable.

The baby survived the beating and was born in mid-August a few days before the girl's due date. It remains in state custody and is living with foster parents.

Harrison in September pleaded guilty to second-degree felony attempted murder. He is due in court for sentencing Oct. 27.

A message left by The Associated Press for Harrison's court-appointed attorney, John Beaslin, was not immediately returned Tuesday.

Source: Utah girl who pleaded no contest to trying to induce miscarriage released from jail | StarTribune.com

[LynnieD]

Wow...

Wonder if that chick that had 15 abortions would have gone to this length at all too? Nah...wouldn't get the high from it all.

Freaks, all of em.

[Laxmobster]

If she's gonna pay $150 for someone to beat her up, why not just pay for the abortion?

[scooter]

There are many parts of the middle of the country where there are no abortion providers for many hours drive. Given what they charged her with, I would say she's in one of those areas.

[Honey]

Utah man sentenced in pregnant teen beating case

Aaron Harrison, 21, of Naples, appears in Judge A. Lynn Payne's 8th District Court courtroom in Vernal, Utah on Tuesday, Oct. 27, 2009 for sentencing. He earlier pleaded guilty to attempted murder in September in a case involving a 17-year-old Naples girl who paid Harrison $150 to beat her up get rid of a viable fetus. (AP Photo/Al Hartmann, Pool) (Al Hartmann - AP)
Enlarge Photo

VERNAL, Utah -- A Utah man was sentenced Tuesday to up to five years in prison for beating a pregnant girl to try to cause a miscarriage, after police say she paid him to.
Aaron Harrison, 21, had pleaded guilty to second-degree felony attempted murder, which is punishable by up to 15 years in prison. But District Judge A. Lynn Payne instead sentenced him under Utah's anti-abortion statute, saying a charge of third-degree "attempted killing of an unborn child" better fit the facts of the case, The Salt Lake Tribune reported on its Web site.
Harrison, of Naples, also was sentenced Tuesday in four unrelated cases, three of which involved third-degree felonies. He could serve up to 20 years total.
Prosecutors have said a 17-year-old Uintah County girl paid Harrison $150 to beat her after her boyfriend threatened a breakup if she didn't get rid of the child.
Harrison brought the girl, who was seven months pregnant, to his home in May. He then attacked her, leaving bruises on her stomach and a bite mark on her neck, court records said. The baby survived and was born in August.
"I don't think words can describe the kind of depraved conduct you entered into in trying to take the life of a child," Judge A. Lynn Payne told Harrison on Tuesday.
The girl, who wasn't identified because she was a juvenile, pleaded no contest in June to a second-degree felony count of criminal solicitation to commit murder. Juvenile Court Judge Larry Steele ordered her to be placed in the custody of Utah Juvenile Justice Services until she was 21.
But Steele this month had the girl released from jail after ruling that she was seeking an abortion and was therefore not criminally liable.
Steele called the girl's actions "shocking and crude" in a ruling. But he said that under state law, "a woman who solicits or seeks to have another cause an abortion of her own unborn child cannot be criminally liable."

The judge granted attorney Rich King's motion to withdraw the girl's plea and release her from detention. King contends the teen didn't do what prosecutors allege and wouldn't be liable if she did.
The girl, who is now 18, is seeking custody of the baby, the Tribune reported.

washingtonpost.com

[scooter]

Great now she wants custody. No doubt Granny and Grandpa Mormon who wouldn't sign off on the abortion have quite something to say on the subject.