OSHKOSH, Wis. – A woman accused of smothering her 4-month-old daughter when she passed out drunk while nursing the child was sentenced to seven years in prison.
Judge Robert Hawley told Lorinda J. Hawkins, who is pregnant, that her alcohol abuse likened her to a drunken driver who kills another motorist.
"You are putting your family in jeopardy," the judge said Thursday.
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Hawkins, 28, pleaded no contest in April to one felony count of child neglect resulting in death.
According to the criminal complaint, she was intoxicated in February 2005 when she awoke after passing out and found the baby pale and not breathing. Hawkins and her husband tried to resuscitate the child, the called 911, the complaint said.
At the time, Hawkins was serving probation after leaving her children at home alone for hours before returning intoxicated in 2004, according to a complaint.
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