Monday, September 15, 2008

Maryland Man Gets Life in Prison for Killing Girlfriend and Her Unborn Child

From http://lifenews.com/state3484.html


Maryland Man Gets Life in Prison for Killing Girlfriend and Her Unborn Child

by Steven Ertelt
LifeNews.com Editor
September 14, 2008

Email RSS Printer

Towson, MD (LifeNews.com) -- A Maryland man is headed to prison for killing his pregnant girlfriend and her unborn child after she had hoped to excite him about the impending birth of her baby. David Miller met Elizabeth Walters at a shopping center parking let and Walters told Miller he is the father even though he is currently married to someone else.

This is the first time the Maryland unborn victims law came into play, which makes the state one of 36 that protect pregnant women and unborn children and offer them justice in these kinds of violent crimes. The laws allow criminals to be held accountable for killing or injuring both mother and child.

According to WJZ-TV, Miller shot Walters to death and killed her unborn child after getting in her vehicle at the shopping center.

As a result of the crime and the involvement of the unborn victims law, Miller will serve a life term in prison without the possibility of parole.

Scott Shellenberg, Baltimore County State's Attorney, told the TV station the unborn victims law was appropriate for Miller’s crimes.

"In this case the intent was to kill the child, so he wouldn't have to be responsible and because of that we felt the facts all fit perfectly," he said.

Walters’ adoptive parents say they're glad Miller’s is getting a stiff prison term for killing their daughter and grandchild.

"Elizabeth valued family above everything else. Because she had so many families-- birth families, adopted families, friends-- all she wanted was for her daughter to have a sense of family," said Vivian Walters, the victim's adoptive mother.

According to a 2001 study published by the Journal of the American Medical Association, approximately 20 percent of Maryland women who died during pregnancy were murdered, the leading cause of death.

The Maryland study concluded that, "A pregnant or recently pregnant woman is more likely to be a victim of homicide than to die of any other cause."

Maryland law says, “A prosecution may be instituted for murder or manslaughter of a viable fetus," if the person prosecuted "intended to cause the death of the viable fetus, intended to cause serious physical injury to the viable fetus, or wantonly or recklessly disregarded the likelihood that the person's actions would cause the death of or serious physical injury to the viable fetus."

The law went into place on October 2005, but makes it one of the 10 states that do not protect pregnant women and unborn children throughout pregnancy.

No comments: