Richmond, Va., Nov 18, 2004 / 22:00 pm
A jury in the Nelson Court of Richmond New Zealand has given a not guilty verdict to a man who admitted to killing his brain-damaged baby daughter by smothering her to death, saying that he was innocent of any wrongdoing.
Family Life International, New Zealand has released a statement saying that the jury’s verdict “negates the value of the dead girl’s life and her right to live.”
Saying that “compassion and understanding must be extended to the man involved and his family,” the press release states that “the baby girl involved has had her life taken from her yet it seems that her life was not important enough to warrant a guilty conviction for the minimum sentence of her manslaughter.”
To suggest that this “unlawful act of smothering…is not an act of manslaughter is a travesty of justice,” continued the statement.