A mother who abused and killed her 4-month-old son received a reduced sentence on appeal.
The Second Criminal Division of the Gwangju High Court, presided over by Chief Judge Hwang Jin-hee, overturned the lower court's ruling Tuesday and sentenced the mother, identified only as A, 34, to 35 years in prison on charges including child abuse resulting in death.
The father, identified as B, 36, received the same sentence as the lower court — four years and six months in prison. Both parents were ordered to complete 40 hours of child abuse treatment programs and are barred from working at child-related institutions for 10 years.
In its ruling on A, the appeals court said the abuse had been sustained and ultimately fatal, making it impossible to characterize the crime as purely impulsive. At the same time, the court said it was difficult to conclude that she had killed the child with deliberate, premeditated intent.
The court added that it could not be said she had actively desired or hoped for the child's death, citing the fact that on the day of the incident she recognized the severity of the baby's condition and called emergency services. The court also took into account that she showed remorse after the crime and had no prior criminal record.
The court said it could not conclude that A had no prospect of rehabilitation whatsoever — which would warrant a life sentence — nor that a fixed-term prison sentence within the statutory maximum would be so lenient as to be clearly unjust.
Regarding B, the court said he had lived with A and the child and was better placed than anyone to observe A's parenting and the baby's condition. It said he had neglected the abuse for a considerable period without taking any steps to protect the child, turning away from the responsibilities expected of him as a husband and father.
However, the court dismissed B's appeal, saying the lower court had set his sentence at the upper end of the sentencing guidelines after weighing the gravity of the offense and all relevant factors, and that the sentence was neither too heavy nor too light given his culpability.
Chief Judge Hwang said she had given deep thought to the question of severe punishment, noting that she is herself a mother of two. "This has been a trial in which I dared to persuade myself — and the public — with the attitude that it is something I must live with for the rest of my life," she said.
A was indicted on charges of repeatedly assaulting her 4-month-old son at the family home in Yeosu, South Jeolla Province, on Oct. 22 last year, then leaving him in a running baby bath until he died. She also faces charges of abusing or neglecting the child on 19 separate occasions over roughly two months beginning Aug. 24 of the same year.
Investigators found that A had thrown the infant, who could not yet support his own body, onto a bed and grabbed him by the hair, among other acts of abuse. Home security camera footage captured her screaming "Just die" at the child. The baby died at 133 days old; his body showed bruising throughout and 500 milliliters of internal bleeding in the abdominal cavity.
A claimed she had no intent to kill, citing parenting stress and postpartum depression. The trial court, however, found that she had acted with contingent intent to kill and sentenced her to life in prison. B was sentenced to four years and six months for neglecting his wife's abuse and threatening a witness in the case.
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