The woman charged with murder after initially declining a Caesarean section and giving birth to a stillborn twin has pleaded guilty to two lesser charges unrelated to the delayed C-section.
Melissa Ann Rowland, 28, was charged with first-degree murder after she declined certain medical treatment late in her pregnancy — including a recommended Caesarean section — and one of the twins she was carrying was born dead. The surviving twin has been adopted.
Rowland on Wednesday pleaded guilty to two counts of child endangerment, a third-degree felony, for exposing each fetus to cocaine while in the womb. The plea recommends that she be able to leave Utah upon sentencing for unsupervised probation in the state of her choice. An underlying prison sentence would be suspended.
Women's groups and advocates for the homeless and mentally ill were outraged.
"This is not justice," said Andrea Moore, president of the National Organization for Women's Utah chapter. "She didn't commit a crime. She waited to have a Caesarean section."
NOW joined eight other advocacy groups in issuing a written statement that said Rowland was "intimidated" into accepting the guilty pleas simply to get out of jail. "Melissa is a victim of an overzealous prosecutor, misguided medical personnel, a failed health- care system, and an abusive jail system," the statement said.
However, defense attorneys and prosecutors said they were satisfied.
Prosecutor Langdon Fisher said the plea's reduced charges resulted from new information about Rowland's mental health and personal history. "We believe these pleas are in the best interest of justice," he said.
Rowland has said during an interview with the Deseret Morning News that she had been institutionalized at age 12 and also said she has been extremely depressed, to the point of being suicidal, while in the Salt Lake County Jail.
Defense attorney Michael Sikora told the judge he had Rowland evaluated by a psychologist in jail and believes that she is competent to enter the plea bargain.
"All options were presented to Miss Rowland, and she decided it was in her best interests to resolve the case as soon as possible, and I support her decision," Sikora said outside the courtroom.
Third-degree felonies potentially carry a sentence of zero to five years in prison. But as part of the agreement, prosecutors will recommend that the judge suspend the prison time, put Rowland on probation and order her into a drug-rehabilitation program.
However, the agreement struck between prosecutors and defense attorneys says Rowland can leave Utah any time after the sentencing and her probation would not be supervised in another state.
Third District Judge Dennis Fuchs ordered an "expedited" presentence report and set April 29 as the sentencing date.
Fuchs is not bound to follow the plea bargain's recommendations, but judges in Utah's district courts generally do so.
Fuchs explained to Rowland that if he cannot in good conscience accept the presentence report and plea arrangement recommendations, then the murder charge would be reinstated and the original case would begin again. She also can withdraw her plea and the case would resume as before.
Sikora asked that Rowland be allowed to live in a Salt Lake City women's shelter until her sentencing, saying she was not a flight risk. Fuchs, however, ordered that she stay in jail because Adult Probation and Parole needs contact with her to complete an expedited presentence report.
Salt Lake County District Attorney David Yocom said at a press conference in his office that a panel of experienced prosecutors decided Rowland had exhibited "depraved indifference" when she declined the C-section when it was strongly recommended by a doctor.
Asked about critics who wonder if other women who don't want C-sections will be forced to have them or be prosecuted for murder, Yocom said the circumstances in a rare situation justified the original charge.
"As to the question of whether or not the state is somehow invading the right of this woman to do what she wants with her body, this was not a case of forcing anything on this defendant," Yocom said.
"She had two prior C-sections," Yocom said, adding that she was willing to ultimately have a C-section for these babies. "She was well aware of what would happen if she didn't have the C-section in a timely fashion. We felt that met the standard of depraved indifference. We felt this was different from other women's C-sections."
As for Rowland's mental health, Yocom explained that the legal standards are different regarding a defendant's state of mind at the time an alleged crime is committed and a person's competency to take part in court proceedings.
He also said the district attorney's office cannot screen every alleged felon's mental health prior to lodging criminal charges. The questions of mental health and competency are the responsibility of defense attorneys.
He denied his office had any political agenda in charging Rowland and that the subsequent massive publicity that it sparked had not influenced the case.
Yocom said his office did not set up a plan for another state to supervise her probation because that could take six to eight weeks that Rowland would spend in jail here. "We felt it was important that she get treatment and get it as soon as possible."
He said he understood her attorneys were arranging for placement in a treatment facility in another state.
E-mail: lindat@desnews.com