Court: Infant got meth via umbilical cord

Mom’s conviction upheld; tweak law, one judge urges

In an opinion issued Wednesday, the Arkansas Court of Appeals upheld the conviction of a De Queen woman who was sentenced to 20 years in prison after her son was born with methamphetamine in his system.

Though the Court of Appeals ruled that the conviction fit the crime in this instance, one judge issued a separate opinion calling on the Arkansas General Assembly to clear up language in the law.

Melissa McCann-Arms, 38, admitted to using methamphetamine the day before her son was born in November 2012, according to court records. During the trial in Polk County Circuit Court, nurses from Mena Regional Health System said the infant was "jittery and shaky" and suffered from methamphetamine withdrawal.

In an appeal, McCann-Arms and her defense argued that the charge against her -- introducing a controlled substance into the body of another person -- did not apply to unborn children. During the trial and in the appeal, Randy Rainwater, McCann-Arms' attorney, said there was no reference to unborn children in the statute and that Arkansas law does not define an unborn child as a "person" except in cases of homicide.

The Court of Appeals first attempted to send the case to the Arkansas Supreme Court because it presented a new legal issue, the opinion stated. However, the higher court declined to hear it.

The opinion states that "even assuming" the statute does not apply to an unborn child, the conviction was not reversed because McCann-Arms' fluids continued to flow through the umbilical cord to her son for a period of time after he was born.

Once he was born, her son "undoubtedly" fell into the category of "another person," the opinion states.

"I'm delighted with the opinion," said James Riner, the case's prosecuting attorney. "That was our theory of the case, and the Court of Appeals adopted it."

In a concurring opinion, Judge Phillip Whiteaker said he agreed with the court's decision but asked that the state Legislature include an amendment indicating whether the statute applies to unborn children.

"I do not believe the legislature intended for the statute to be utilized in this manner," Whiteaker wrote. "If the legislature does in fact intend this statute to apply to an in utero transfer of a controlled substance from a mother to her child, it should amend the statute to make its intent patently clear."

Riner, who in Mena is the prosecuting attorney for 18th Judicial Circuit, said it "very rarely happens" that a Court of Appeals judge writes an opinion asking legislators to amend a law.

"I think it's something the Legislature should address, especially since one of the justices said, 'Hey, you need to take a look at this,'" Riner said. "This was a novel case."

In 2005, prosecutors dropped charges against a Hot Springs woman who reportedly gave birth to twins who had methamphetamine in their systems, according to an article by the Arkansas Democrat-Gazette.

Natasha Faye Spainhour, then 25, was arrested on a charge of introducing a controlled substance into the body of another person, but Prosecuting Attorney Steve Oliver said at the time that the statute "was never intended for this type of charge."

"The charge was made basically for people who are dispensing drugs without a license and people who would slip a Mickey [a knockout drug] into someone's drink. ... This is an improper charge," Oliver told the Democrat-Gazette.

McCann-Arms was sentenced on Jan. 14, 2014, to the maximum 240 months in prison, and she's currently imprisoned at the Wrightsville Unit.

Rainwater did not respond to requests for comment Wednesday.

Metro on 01/29/2015

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