Woman who dumped baby at Hicksville LIRR station sentenced

Overcome with emotion, Erma Stephens could hardly get her words out before a Nassau County Judge sentenced her to 3 1/3 to 10 years in prison in the 2006 death of her baby, whose body she dumped in a trash bin ...

[Confused]

why do the sentencing guidelines allow a maximum 10 year sentence? She killed a newborn and left him in the garbage as if it were a discarded coffee cup or newspaper.

[EX-LI]

Confused wrote:

why do the sentencing guidelines allow a maximum 10 year sentence? She killed a newborn and left him in the garbage as if it were a discarded coffee cup or newspaper.

I asked myself the same question. She will get what she deserves once she gets upstate. They don't treat baby killers to kindly at Bedford Hills.

[Bill]

EX-LI wrote:

<
I asked myself the same question. She will get what she deserves once she gets upstate. They don't treat baby killers to kindly at Bedford Hills.

HOw do you know?

[oiram ifnab]

"She sobbed and wailed as she spoke. "God knows my heart. I'm not a bad person," she said. "Please have mercy, your honor.""
1) You certainly are a bad person.
2) Why the light sentence - first offense of killing a kid?

[gotacomment]

We need to start educating people about the Safe Haven law. Stephens could have left the newborn at a hospital, a fire house or a police station and no one would have asked questions. I couldn't find much good to say about the lowlife who left the baby girl in a livery cab in Queens, but at least she's still alive.

[R U Kidding Me]

This woman deprived this poor, innocent child of ever having a life, and the mother just gets a slap on the wrist?!? Only up to 10 years in prison? Give me a break! Lock her up and throw away the key. What is this world coming to?

[upstate bob]

gotacomment wrote:

We need to start educating people about the Safe Haven law. Stephens could have left the newborn at a hospital, a fire house or a police station and no one would have asked questions. I couldn't find much good to say about the lowlife who left the baby girl in a livery cab in Queens, but at least she's still alive.

the safe haven law cannot make it any easier for someone to give up their unwanted newborn,what a miserable woman,God bless the child,dam the mother,very senseless.

[fed up]

What in the world could be the reason for the extremely light sentence for killing a baby and tossing it like yesterdays garbage. These types of uneducated, ignorant idiots need to be punished severely as should everyone who commits this act. However, why do we hear about it with predominantly these types of individuals. Why is it acceptable or even in their thought process to handle the situation this way. First off she could have left it at a hospital and that could have been the end of her involvement with the child. The child would have been much better off than with an animal like this anyway. God help us, God help our society that we live amongst these types of evil people.

[Billy Club]

"Have mercy your honor"? That baby killing wretch ! If she's a "compassionate" person as her scumbag attorney says, then she shouldn't mind feeling what that poor little angel felt, suffocate her and throw her in a landfill. She was embarrassed about getting pregnant out of wedlock? Nuts to her, that seems to be the national past time now, she just didn't want the responsibility. And if she didn't want that then, she should have kept her legs together. Her "lapdog" said she made bad choices, she sure did, she decided to murder a baby that couldn't have caused her anything but joy, given the chance.

[angry grandma]

I cannot believe that this individual only got 10 year's for deliberatly suffocating a baby to death.. This judge was asleep.. Forget that part about dumping this poor little baby in the garbage she knew what she was doing when she killed that baby and that should have been the biggest and most important part of the trial.. She knowingly killed a human being and for that she only get's 10 year's and at the tax payer's cost no less..

[BigPicture]

angry grandma wrote:

I cannot believe that this individual only got 10 year's for deliberatly suffocating a baby to death..

Let's face it, once Abortion became a Tax Payer financed Constitutional right, the value of a newborn baby's life was immediately devalued.

[Run262]

She could've brought that baby to any hospital, police station, or church, with no questions asked. She murdered instead. It's to late to whine about jail time.

[jenn]

gotta love the judges...WTF??!! This poor baby....she absolutely knew what she was doing...have mercy on her...F her! She will get treated very nice in the big house...i am pissed off...something MUST CHANGE.

[Not Impressed]

BigPicture wrote:

<quoted text>
Let's face it, once Abortion became a Tax Payer financed Constitutional right, the value of a newborn baby's life was immediately devalued.

That is completely unfounded, and a totally agenda based opinion that has nothing to do with human economics. There are many perils in coming into this world....the more perils the higher the value of those that make it...not less!

[Greg]

This world is the saddest place. What is wrong with these people??? What kind of animal can kill her own children then beg for mercy? And how does she only get 3-10 yrs? Its murder. Sentence her to life.

[Not Impressed]

According to the article a 35 year old woman gets pregnant out of wedlock and is embarrassed by it. She has the baby, panics, and dumps it. Her spiritual guide of 20 years from the church of God is shocked.

Could it be that religious stigma caused her embarrassment? Could it be that her faith based morality failed her in her confusion? Could it be that some responsibility lies with her spiritual guides who led her no where?

[Glen Cove Lady]

Babies are PEOPLE for Christ's sake. Such an outrageously immoral, weak sentence shows how much our society is dehumanizing babies.

[Glen Cove Lady]

"Big Picture"- I don't know much about what you've posted in the past, but I do agree that there is a trend of devalueing(sp?)and dehumanizing babies.

Prochoice or prolife aside, it just seems to be an awful side effect.

[Michael]

I agree, why is a child's life NOT MORE IMPORTANT than an adults? Rape and sexually abuse a kid, and do about 7 years. Kill a newborn, do less than 10?

In sexual abuse, the child ceases to be the child it was before the abuse, so essentially, the child dies. In the death of a newborn, logic dictates that taking an innocent, helpless life should result in you giving up your life.

1 in 100 Americans are in jail, yet we let these demons walk in our midst...only after 7 years with their own gym set, group of like minded individuals and an opportunity to perfect their trade.

W T F is wrong with NYS?

[gotacomment]

upstate bob wrote:

<quoted text>the safe haven law cannot make it any easier for someone to give up their unwanted newborn,what a miserable woman,God bless the child,dam the mother,very senseless.

Upstate Bob, which do you prefer, a dead child in a garbsge can or a live one abandned at a firehouse, police station or whatever that has a chance to be adopted into a loving family and live a good, productive, happy life? You'd obviously rather punish the mother and never mind whether the kid lives or dies.