Tuesday, August 23, 2016

Purvi Patel; Indiana; Welcome development: Bulletin; South Bend Tribune reports that the state is not expected to appeal thr Indiana Supreme Court 'feticide' decision - and that she may soon go free..." Marshall said he believed the Supreme Court would have affirmed the appellate court's ruling, which held in part that the state legislature never intended for the feticide law to be applied to women for their own illegal abortions. But Marshall said his focus was to end Patel's legal fight as soon as possible. "We are pleased the state did not seek review, and that's not because we felt the opinion was vulnerable — quite the contrary," (Stanford law Professor Lawrence) Marshall said. "We want to get her out, and had we sought review that would have delayed the process considerably, so we chose not to do that, reflecting a desire to move on."..." Patel's appellate lawyers, Marshall and Indiana University law professor Joel Schumm, argued that prosecutors improperly applied the feticide law; that they failed to prove Patel knew her baby was born alive; and that they failed to prove the baby could have survived if Patel had called for help. The appeals panel agreed that the state improperly applied the feticide statute and failed to prove Patel's inaction caused the baby's death after he was born. But the judges ruled that prosecutors proved Patel knew the baby was born alive and committed neglect."