Court Revives Manslaughter Charge in Baby's Drug-Related Death

[Opel_Justwax]

A divided Eighth Circuit panel reinstated an involuntary manslaughter charge Friday against a South Dakota woman whose son died hours after birth and was found to have illegal drugs in his system.
Samantha Flute, a Native American, gave birth in August 2016 to a baby boy at a hospital in Sisseton, South Dakota, after testing positive for cocaine and various prescription and over-the-counter drugs.

Four hours later, the premature baby died from combined drug toxicity as a result of the drugs Flute ingested while he was still in utero, according to the findings of a forensic pathologist.

Federal prosecutors charged Flute with one count of involuntary manslaughter committed within Indian country, claiming she killed the baby by ingesting “medicines in a grossly negligent manner.” She reportedly admitted that she knew ingesting the drugs could harm her baby, but said she needed to get high.

[link:https://www.courthousenews.com/court-revives-manslaughter-charge-in-babys-drug-related-death/|]