[PJB]

Mother found not guilty of abandoning baby in Prince Albert Walmart toilet

PRINCE ALBERT — April Dawn Halkett, the mother who left her newborn son in the toilet of a Prince Albert Walmart in May 2007, has been found not guilty of child abandonment.

Justice Neil Gabrielson announced his verdict on Wednesday in Prince Albert Court of Queen’s Bench, saying Halkett’s actions were understandable under the circumstances and that they did not constitute child abandonment.

The trial, which attracted nation-wide attention, lasted one week in May.

Defence lawyer Ajay Krishan said during closing arguments that Halkett was scared and in shock when she left the baby boy on May 21, 2007. Halkett said she thought the baby was dead. Leaving her newborn boy alone in a toilet in a public washroom may have been morally wrong, but it was not criminal, Krishan said.

“She thought she was leaving a fetus,” Krishan argued in May. “Why would she leave a live child to die?”

The name of the child cannot be revealed due to a publication ban.

Crown prosecutor Jennifer Claxton-Viczko said in May the case involves “the worst case of child abandonment there could be.”

“A mother has a responsibility to her children. . . . All that she had to do was pick the baby up out of the toilet.

“What she does do is just as important as what she doesn’t do.”

Claxton-Viczko questioned why Halkett never asked for help during the delivery, even after shoppers and store staff offered to help. The defence suggested Halkett was disoriented after the delivery, but Claxton-Viczko said she didn’t have any trouble getting out of the store or finding her way back to her friends’ vehicle in the parking lot.

“There’s an attempt to paint a pretty picture of what happened,” Claxton-Viczko argued in May. “But, in fact, that picture is really quite ugly.”

The baby is reportedly in good health and has a relationship with Halkett.

[Brenda]

$1:

“A mother has a responsibility to her children. . . .

She was a kid herself who had a kid, was in shock, and was definitely not a mother. Giving birth doesn't make you a mother, just as "donating" your sperm doesn't make you a father in the emotional way you mean it, my lady.

Now a complete random guess, but does this crown prosecutor happen to be lesbian, with no kids?
[stirs up pot )

[Newsbot]

Title: Mother who left newborn in Wal-Mart toilet not guilty
Category: Law & Order
Posted By: llama66
Date: 2009-06-24 09:57:08
Canadian

[GreenTiger]

I do believe Judge Gabrielson has been indulging in a little bit too much BC bud.

How is leaving a newborn in a wal-Mart washroom NOT child abandonment.

[Scape]

She is clearly not sound of mind.

[danimal]

Not guilty? You have got to be kidding me!

[ridenrain]

...it's all those deadbeat dads faults.

[stokes]

"The baby is reportedly in good health and has a relationship with Halkett"

I find this the most disturbing....and if a woman was having a baby in a bathroom, why did no one call an ambulance????? Were they too busy drinking Alcohol based hand cleanser????

[saturn_656]

not guilty? so did someone else leave the baby in the toilet?

[wildrosegirl]

This is such bullshit. She should have been found guilty of abandonment AND child endangerment, and received the max for both.

[cheryl08]

HMMM...the fact is she DID abandon the child. But what i find interesting is she DIDN'T know she was pregnant. Imagine, walking into a bathroom and all of a sudden popping out a baby that appeared to be a stillborn. I would expect she would be shocked and very disoriented
I think the major facts of this case UNDER THE LAW not personal opinion would be if the mens rea in this case proves she was in the mind, knowingly abandoning the child then she would be guilty.
i.e. did she think the child was alive? was she in a state of shock?
therefore, this case should be tried in terms of the facts, If the mens rea cannot be proven then technically she didn't break the criminal code thereby being innocent. It sucks to hear but that's the way the law works. If you disagree, then the true conflict is with the current judicial system not with this particular case.

[cheryl08]

...

[Monkeyman]

How did I miss this story the first time? Craziness.