Park City woman sentenced to 8 years for involuntary manslaughter of own child
LAKE COUNTY, Ill. (CBS) – A Park City woman was sentenced to eight years in prison for the death of her own child on Thursday.
Jennifer Stroud, 41, was convicted on May 10 of one count of involuntary manslaughter and one count of endangering a child /causing death
Stroud was first charged with both felonies in January 2017 for failing to take her son, Jason Stroud, to regular hospital visits after a heart transplant and not giving him critical daily medication needed to prevent his body from rejecting his new heart.
The parents' inaction eventually led to the death of the 11-year-old child on Sept. 11, 2016.
"As the court noted, this is a tremendous tragedy. Our office prosecuted both parents because Jason's death was preventable. It was criminal and reckless for them to fail to treat and care for their son. As Mr. Kalata said, they criminally squandered the most precious thing: Jason's life. After many years, we hope that justice for Jason will also mean that this never happens again," State's Attorney Eric Rinehart said.
Defense attorneys called three witnesses to provide testimony during the sentencing hearing. The defense also requested probation in their presentation to the court.
The sentence is to be served at 50 percent with two years of supervised release -- including 75 days of credit.