Pregnant Woman Who Shot Herself in Stomach and Killed Baby is Acquitted
Judge Dismisses Case Against Pregnant Woman Who Shot Herself in the Stomach and Killed Child
Tammy got dressed and, bringing her handgun with her, drove behind a grocery store into a dark spot. "I sat there for a while and told the Lord that my mind was not right," Skinner reportedly told a detective.
The first time Tammy pulled the trigger, the gun didn't fire. The second time Skinner tried to shoot herself in the stomach, the gun didn't fail. Tammy's full-term baby girl died as a result of the gun shot wound.
Next Skinner phoned the police from a car dealership and claimed that a man shot her in the stomach and pushed her out of the car. Later, Skinner changed her testimony and said that the baby's father shot her. Eventually, Tammy confessed to a detective that it wasn't the first time she had considered killing her unborn child.
According to the Virginia-Pilot, Skinner, now 23, was "charged in Circuit Court with producing an abortion or miscarriage, a felony charge that her attorney argues cannot be used to prosecute a woman who ends her own pregnancy."
A lower court judge had already thrown out a charge of producing an abortion against Skinner, concluding that the law was not aimed at pregnant mothers who harm themselves or their yet-to-be born children. Yet the case was resurrected this summer when prosecutors went to a grand jury, who directly indicted Tammy Skinner in July.
A jury trial was scheduled for Nov. 2 regarding the case against Skinner.
But today Circuit Court Judge Westbrook Parker heard arguments in Skinner's case, including a motion to dismiss the case, and decided to drop the felony charge against Tammy Skinner, effectively ending all prosecution against the underprivileged mother of two.
Tammy Skinner's father has said that his daughter suffered from depression. Tammy, who spoke with Detective T.L. Cooper five days after the fatal shooting, told him she "did not have any choices" and "wanted to harm the baby."
Tammy Skinner blamed her desperate choice to kill her baby on the fact that the baby's father refused to pay for an abortion, but told Skinner that he could arrange to have someone to shoot her in the stomach, planting the seed of Tammy's fatal decision to carry out the measure herself.
Published by Paula Neal Mooney
Paula Neal Mooney has been published in various national magazines, such as Writer's Digest and other parenting publications. She has been writing online since 2005, and focuses on the areas of Christiani... View profile
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90 Comments
Post a CommentThe life of a child seems to stand for nothing in today's world. It would have been better if she'd sold the child for adoption. At least it would have been alive and loved and she could have had her pound of flesh, which seems to be all this child was considered as.
didn't this stupid selfish women believe in protection there are all sort's of birthcontrol method's out there she commited murder an got away with it how can we call that justice when there wasn't any i feel sorry for the unborn child i hope she get's what's comming to her it will come back to haunt her
"It is degrading to women that we should treat our children as property to be disposed of as we see fit."
"Guilty? Yes. No matter what the motive, love of ease, or a desire to save from suffering the unborn innocent, the woman is awfully guilty who commits the deed. It will burden her conscience in life, it will burden her soul in death; But oh, thrice guilty is he who drove her to the desperation which impelled her to the crime!"
This woman is totally lacking in natural affection (Romans 1:31). A mother is naturally disposed toward the fruit of her womb to succor and protect her. To override this requires a heart that is hard as granite.
Now, how hard would it have been to give that baby up for adoption? She had so many avenues... Yet what she did was flat out murder.
As far as I'm concerned, this woman should have gone to a free clinic to abort her unborn child, and should now have any other children removed from her. If she is that desperate not to have children, the state should have mercy and remove her children from her. She would likely be happier with that.
This is a woman that did not want this baby. This is a woman that knew what she was doing and for that reason then stated she was depressed.To then get away with an excuse. What the country needs to do is to get a bill pass to make a law about mothers harming themselves to lose their babies like this woman did. Then maybe there can be justice. She should get convicted but until there is no law there is no justice.
I wish I could say that I don't believe the stupidity of some of these comments, but sadly enough I do. That is the state of this Country.
What I can't believe is that she was not convicted of anything! There is way too much legal presidence to have got a conviction. I am keeping this purely a legal issue and leaving my personal beliefs out of it.
If I had pushed her down the stairs and it killed the unborn child. I would have been charged with at least 2nd degree murder if I had stabbed her in the gut and it killed her unborn child I would have been charged with murder and so on.... Shooting yourself is illegal! Discharging a firearm in public is illegal! Did she own the gun legally? was checked against the national database to see if it was used in any other crimes? Interference in a homicide investigation is illegal. She lied to the police twice. !st it was a mugger and it was the alleged father that shot her. It seems like the D.A. could have got some charges to stick.
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did i really just read that the charges were dropped against her?! she could have had the baby & placed the baby in a home that would have loved her & wanted her for all her life! we have people sitting on death row in america for murders that accidentally happened but yet, we can drop charges against a mother who shoots her child that is ab to be born?! if that is okay then they should just change the law to legal abortions in the 3rd trimester & not illegal! i really hope they didnt allow her to keep her other 2 children!