3 years in prison for foster mother convicted of manslaughter.

Article here. Excerpt:

'An Edmonton foster mother, convicted of manslaughter in the death of a child in her care, was sentenced Thursday to three years in prison, with two months' credit given for the time she spent in remand.

A jury convicted the woman, 34, in November. She cannot be named under Alberta child protection legislation in order to protect the identity of the child, who also cannot be named.

The toddler died in January 2007 of a massive brain injury sustained when his skull hit part of a toilet bowl.

Court of Queen's Bench Justice Richard Marceau delivered his decision in a courtroom packed with the friends of the foster mother and relatives and friends of the dead child's family.

After going through all the medical evidence presented by both sides in the case, the judge said he had enough reasonable doubt about how the boy came to hit his head on the toilet bowl to give the benefit of doubt to the accused. He described the fatality as closer to being a "near-accident" than a "near-murder."

Other factors were taken into account in coming to the decision, Marceau said. He felt the woman was under too much stress and had taken on too much work by caring for four foster children at one point.'

What a surprise that comments are closed to this article.