HIGH COURT OVERTURNS MOTHER'S CONVICTION

Woman in Prison for Killing Unborn Child to Get New Trial

The S.C. Supreme Court on Monday overturned a conviction that sent a
Conway woman to prison for 12 years.

The court ruled that Regina McKnight, who was convicted in 2001 of
homicide by child abuse after being accused of killing her unborn
child with cocaine, must be granted a new trial.

McKnight gave birth to a stillborn, 5-pound girl May 15, 1999. The
baby's age was estimated at between 34 and 37 weeks.

McKnight's first trial, in January 2001, ended in a mistrial. Four
months later, a jury convicted her.

Monday's decision means that case will be remitted to the 15th
Circuit Solicitor's office within 30 days, Solicitor Greg Hembree said.

C. Rauch Wise of Greenwood, one of McKnight's appellate attorneys and
general counsel for the state chapter of the American Civil Liberties
Union, said Monday that he was delighted about he ruling. He said he
would seek to have his client released on bail pending a new trial.

In January 2003, the S.C. Supreme Court upheld McKnight's conviction.
The U.S. Supreme Court then refused to hear her case.

Attorneys for the National Advocates for Pregnant Women and the S.C.
Civil Liberties Union became involved in McKnight's case when she
asked for post-conviction relief.

"The groups got involved because there is complete consensus that
prosecuting pregnant women is bad for mothers and babies," said Lynn
Paltrow, with the National Advocates for Pregnant Women. "Regina
McKnight was convicted on junk science and was not fairly represented
at trial."

The decision by the Supreme Court agreed there was no clear
connection between the baby's death and the mother's use of cocaine.

The opinion also said that jurors should have been told about other
ways children could die as a result of child abuse.

"Although not listed as a cause of death on the autopsy report,
McKnight had a history of syphilis, which has been known to result in
stillbirth," according to the opinion.

The opinion also said that McKnight's public defender worked 200
cases and a death-penalty trial during the time period between
McKnight's two trials.

"Today's ruling focused on the question of whether Ms. McKnight
received a fair trial and concluded that Ms. McKnight's counsel was
ineffective in her preparation of McKnight's defense through expert
testimony and cross-examination," Paltrow said.

Susan Dunn, another attorney who represented McKnight said,
"Significantly, the opinion acknowledges that current research simply
does not support the assumption that prenatal exposure to cocaine
results in harm to the fetus, and the opinion makes clear that it is
certainly no more harmful to a fetus than nicotine use, poor
nutrition, lack of prenatal care, or other conditions commonly
associated with the urban poor."

"This decision puts prosecutors across the state on notice that they
must actually prove that an illegal drug has risked or caused harm,
not simply rely on prejudice and medical misinformation," she said.

Hembree, whose office prosecuted McKnight, said the S.C. Supreme
Court's decision doesn't change any facts of the case.

He said he was a little surprised by the ruling because there are
good lawyers on the other side.

He said his office will need to evaluate where they are, what
position they are in at that point, and if there are any changes that
need to be considered.

Meanwhile, McKnight would remain in prison and may be given a bond
pending a new trial, he said.

At least 90 women accused of using drugs while pregnant have been
prosecuted in the state through the end of 2005, according to
National Advocates for Pregnant Women, a nonprofit organization that
favors treatment over prosecution for drug-addicted pregnant women.

A similar case happened in Georgetown County. Jamie Lynn Burroughs
was indicted on murder charges last year by a Georgetown grand jury,
after authorities said her drug use contributed to the death of her
unborn child.

Hembree said he thinks that case is still pending as the Charleston
County Solicitor's Office is handling the case.

He said Monday's ruling on McKnight was so "case specific" that it
should not have any impact on cases like Burroughs'.

The ruling was targeted toward the trial lawyers' failure of handling
the case specifically, not looking at an overall statue, Hembree said.