As promised, here is an update on Stacey Anvarinia, the North Dakota women who pled guilty to child neglect for allegedly breastfeeding her six-week-old daughter while drunk. For more on what appears to be a startling lack of evidence, see my post here. My suspicion that Anvarinia pled guilty as part of a deal for a lighter sentence and return of her baby seems to have been spot on.
According to the Grand Forks Herald, rather than the maximum sentence of five years imprisonment, Anvarinia was sentenced today to six months which she can serve in a substance abuse treatment facility. No news story published before today has mentioned whether Anvarinia had custody of her infant daughter since the arrest. In my previous blog post, I wondered whether she might have waived her right to trial in order to get her child returned to her. The Grand Forks Herald reports that at Anvarinia's sentencing she said:
"I’m very sorry for what I did, and I know it was wrong,” 26-year-old Stacey Anvarinia told the judge. “And I would like to continue working toward getting my daughter back.
So Anvarinia does not currently have her daughter and does not appear to know when she will regain custody of her. She was arrested in this case on February 13, 2009. As of today's sentencing then, she has been without her daughter for nearly six months and can now, it appears, look forward to at least another six months without her.
The brief news released today makes no mention of Delbert Harrison, the man Anvarinia says was beating her when she called police for help. As of last week, he had not been arrested or charged. Anvarinia's sentence for calling for help is a year without custody of her daughter, six months of which will be in some sort of detention.
Even if Anvarinia was intoxicated when police arrived – something for which there is apparently no evidence other then the police shock at her breastfeeding in their presence – is the loss of custody for a year (or more) and detention for six months an appropriate sentence? If you were a breastfeeding mother in need of help, how willing would you be to call the police? You might find yourself nursing an infant one minute, and regaining custody of a toddler a year later.
UPDATE/CORRECTION: According to the New York Times:
Clapp sentenced Anvarinia to 18 months in jail with all but six months suspended and said Anvarinia could get credit for chemical dependency treatment.
So Anvarinia's sentence is more severe than I reported above. Many thanks to Cate Nelson for the heads-up on this.
This is appalling. I don’t know how they even got her on such a charge, but it’s simply appalling that she should be without her child – who has now not been breastfed, one can only assume – and that all this was for having the nerve to use her breasts while intoxicated.
“If you were a breastfeeding mother in need of help, how willing would you be to call the police?”
Or how open would you be to breastfeeding?
.-= Jill´s last blog ..Spanish Toy Maker Introduces World’s First Breastfeeding Doll… ¿Y Qué? =-.
This is just so aggravating! I still can’t believe they arrested her on such a trumped up charge.
What really riles me about the outcome of this case is that her child gets punished too! Not only has her baby witnessed (and maybe been a victim of) domestic violence but now he/she is separated from his/her mother for about a year: the period during which attachments are build and cemented. By the time the two are reunited, the baby will very likely have formed an attachment to his/her present caregivers and so be doubly hurt by being removed from them and returned to his/her mother, who is then going to have to parent a very confused, hurt and angry toddler. What are the odds that she will have access to infant/parent therapy to mend all that after the fact. And for an apparently trumped up charge. Anyone know the history of this judge?
.-= Claire Winstone´s last blog ..“Pit to Distress” =-.
I can’t believe they are getting away with this. If being drunk isn’t even a crime while breastfeeding – then how can they arrest her for it? This poor woman. It sounds like she needs a good advocate lawyer to take this case and appeal it for her – any takers??
.-= Judy @ MommyNewBlog´s last blog ..World Breastfeeding Week Ends Today =-.
Twitter: Jakearyehmarcus
@Judy, she pled guilty. There is no appeal here.
.-= Jake´s last blog ..Jury Back in Drunken Breastfeeder case … Oh, Wait, She Didn’t Get a Jury =-.
my heart hurts for this woman. i’m not sure i can exactly comprehend how this was allowed to happen.
.-= Mama K´s last blog ..Bergamot scented play clay (gluten free) 4 oz. tub =-.
And thanks to you, Jake, I also get to be angry about this twist: That the alleged woman-beater was one of the witnesses against her:
http://www.thesmokinggun.com/archive/years/2009/0428091badmom3.html
(He’s Delbert Harrison.)
Augh. *tearing hair out*
Everything I read about this case makes me MORE angry!
.-= Cate´s last blog ..“Drunk Breastfeeder” Gets 6 Months in Jail =-.
Twitter: nicolebeth
This is a horrible story. I wish that she’d had good legal advice, which it doesn’t sound like she did. Was her boyfriend related to someone in charge of prosecuting her? One of the police officers? This is beyond unreasonable. How on earth was she advised to plead guilty without even a breathalyzer as evidence on the other side? What more did they have over her? Is there anything sealed with regards to this case? Is rehab even called for if she’s not actually addicted to alcohol and/or drugs? I can’t even imagine having been separated from either of my babies for even a few hours at that age. (And: who has custody? The abusive party?)
Again, this is just awful–I’m sad and angry about this!
I remember seeing this case initially & digging deeper into because it sounded fishy. When I learned of the rest of the details I was appalled. She shouldn’t be without her daughter for this long. It sends the wrong message, for the reasons raised in your post but also the comments. In addition, how does it encourage breastfeeding mothers who might have alcohol addictions to seek treatment if they might lose their children?
.-= beth aka confusedhomemaker´s last blog ..Glamour, Body Image, and the Loving Your Body Revolution. =-.