Korea, Nevada Courts Sentence Women for Baby Abandonment

In South Korea, a woman in her 20s was sentenced to two years in prison and ordered to complete child-abuse treatment after giving birth in a shopping-center restroom and leaving the newborn in a trash can; the infant survived but reportedly sustained permanent brain impairment. The court rejected her claim that mental distress diminished her responsibility, finding that placing the newborn in the can and covering the baby indicated intent to abandon or harm the child. In Nevada, Taylour Dickinson was sentenced to eight to 20 years in prison for attempted murder after leaving her newborn in a dumpster; she received credit for 473 days served. The Nevada infant was found alive after a neighbor heard crying, and Dickinson expressed remorse at sentencing.