Court drops manslaughter charge for Valley woman who lost pregnancy. What’s next?
A central San Joaquin Valley woman who was serving an 11-year prison sentence in connection to her pregnancy loss was granted a motion to vacate her conviction and sentence, according to the California Attorney General’s office, attorneys, and the court’s ruling.
Adora Perez was initially charged with murder in connection with a stillbirth. In 2018, she entered a no-contest plea to voluntary manslaughter, and the murder charge was dismissed. Soon after, with private representation, Perez filed a motion to withdraw her plea.
In January, Attorney General Rob Bonta announced a legal alert — the first of its kind — designed to provide a “proper interpretation” of the state’s Penal Code 187. Pregnant women cannot be charged under the law for the loss of a pregnancy.
On Feb. 19, Perez filed a motion asking the Kings County Superior Court to vacate her manslaughter conviction and sentence. In her motion, Perez also cites the failures of her appointed public defenders to properly advise her and to properly handle her case.
The motion to vacate her conviction was granted in an 11-page ruling Wednesday.
“This decision is a good first step towards affirming what we know to be true, no woman should be penalized for the loss of her pregnancy,” Attorney General Bonta said in a Thursday statement. “The court has issued the beginning of an overdue course correction, confirming that Ms. Perez cannot be charged with manslaughter due to the loss of her pregnancy. As we’ve repeatedly explained, the remaining murder charge is unlawful, and we will continue to support Ms. Perez in her fight to challenge that charge. Bottom line: Pregnant individuals will be protected by the law, not criminalized by it.”
The ruling to vacate Perez’s manslaughter charge means that she will immediately be moved from a California prison, where she was currently serving her sentence, to the Kings County jail. Her initial murder charge will be reinstated, and she will appear in court in April to argue that charge, according to Wednesday’s ruling, the Attorney General’s Office and attorneys with the National Advocates for Pregnant Women (NAPW) who are supporting her case.
NAPW attorneys, who support Perez, said they hope she will be granted bail once she’s transferred to the Kings County jail and that her murder charge is dismissed based on the Attorney General’s alert issued earlier this year.
Chelsea Becker, whose case is identical to that of Perez, had her murder charges in connection to her pregnancy loss dismissed in May 2021.
On June 15, 2018, Perez was sentenced to the “upper term” of 11 years in prison. Kings County Superior Court Judge Robert S. Burns denied the lesser possible sentence for probation, saying, “It is likely that at the age of 30 the defendant will continue to become pregnant and use controlled substances during that pregnancy on a regular basis.”
Becker’s case was also before Judge Burns.
Attorneys and advocates had long argued women couldn’t be charged for murder in connection with a pregnancy loss.
This story was originally published March 17, 2022 at 4:07 PM.
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