Teen Gets Life Sentence For Helping Girlfriend End Pregnancy

Darwin..

Matt

that's a bad call.

She was 5 MONTHS PREGNANT.....

THOSE AREN'T JUST A MASS OF CELLS, 5 MONTH OLD PREMATURE BABIES LIVE ALL THE TIME.

Teen guilty of fetal murder

By ASHLEY COOK

Tuesday, June 07, 2005

Nineteen-year-old Gerardo Flores of Lufkin was sentenced to life in prison Monday in a landmark test case of a state fetal protection law. An Angelina County jury deliberated just under four hours, finding him guilty on two counts of capital murder for his part in killing his unborn twins.

The case will be appealed, possibly all the way to the Supreme Court, defense attorney Ryan Deaton said after the verdict.

Most fetal murder cases involve attacks by strangers, said Assistant District Attorney Art Bauereiss, who prosecuted the case. The facts in Flores' case were a bit unusual, but the evidence supported a guilty finding, he said.

"Most of the family is very pleased with the verdict," Bauereiss said.

Flores' girlfriend, Erica Basoria, 17, was led sobbing from the Angelina County Courthouse by her mother and older sister. While her family testified against Flores, Basoria stood by his side, maintaining she was involved in causing the at-home miscarriage.

Flores' mother, Norma Flores, stood in stunned silence, surrounded by family members for several minutes after her son was led away by Sheriff Kent Henson.

Under state law, a woman cannot be charged for causing the deaths of her own fetuses for any reason. A similar federal law went into effect in April 2004, a month before Flores was charged.

Bauereiss told jurors he was focused on Flores. He couldn't help that Basoria was outside the reach of the law, he said. If the babies had been killed after being born, it wouldn't have been so controversial, he said.

"Think what a horrible crime this would be,? he said. ?We wouldn't hesitate to label it for what it is.?

The law includes the definition of a person ? with full rights to legal protection ? as existing from the moment of conception. Prosecutors chose not to pursue the death penalty against Flores, meaning he received an automatic life sentence with parole possible after 40 years.

Basoria, then 16, was five months pregnant when Flores stepped on her bulging belly more than once the week before she gave birth prematurely in a bathroom at Flores' house the night of May 6, 2004. The defense said she hit herself at the same time, making it impossible to tell who killed the babies. Testimony alleged both may have wanted a miscarriage so the babies wouldn't infringe on college and social plans.

His girlfriend coerced him into it, Flores said in a taped police interview played at trial in which he demonstrated stepping on her. Bauereiss repeated the clip for jurors during his emotional closing statement.

No one would ever know the potential those unborn lives could have held, he said. Family would never get to see the boys' first steps, teach them to tie their shoes or take prom pictures.

Worst of all, he said, Flores' own children could not save themselves.

"Those babies could not raise their hands in self-defense to say, ?No, Daddy, no, Daddy!'? Bauereiss said, emotion nearly choking his words. Basoria's family members sat a few rows behind him, tears rolling down their cheeks.

"Hold him fully accountable for this most unholiest of crimes," he finished.

Deaton begged jurors in his closing statement to give Flores something besides capital murder, choosing instead among injury to a child or manslaughter, with a wider punishment range. State District Judge David Wilson on Monday morning denied Deaton's motions to include jury instruction on several other choices, including criminally-negligent homicide.

The case was tragic, just two kids in love making mistakes, Deaton said. But it was Basoria's fault for egging Flores on, he said.

"She invited violence into their relationship," he told jurors.

Flores has 30 days to file an appeal.

damn that wouldve been a hard dilemma

Thats a sterotype thats going to come back and haunt you if you get in a spelling bee your senior year against a kid of one of those hick NASA rocket scientists.

You guys keep talking about two helpless kids that made a mistake. "He shouldn't get a life sentence."


What about the twins? What should their sentence be?

THIS is what happens when they reduce access to proper birthcontrol options and family planning education!

In these backwater states where they're only teaching 'abstinence' and access to free/cheap clinics is nonexistant, why would you expect these young people to be anything but the ignorant, naive, uneducated bunch that they are?

I feel sorry for them. Can you imagine being THAT desperate as to do something like this to yourself/your girlfriend. I don't imagine that it was a decision that came easily, but one they felt was the only option.

THESE are not the people who should be having children anyway, is it?

Both of them should be thrown in a garbage truck and compressed, and emptied into the dump.

If she wasn't so far along she could still get an abortion by a doctor the guy will have his sentence overturned. Or he should. Also law in unfair since she WANTED abortion and she was helping him out by punching herself. If she had done it all by herself this wouldn't even be a case. At worst he should be charged with performing an abortion without a medical license. In which case is NOT a life sentence.

Regardless of your personal views on abortion, it is a LEGAL medical procedure. The defendant performed a medical procedure, though unlicensed himself, and in a careless manner. Nobody would have gone to jail if:

• The girl had gone to a legitimate clinic, and exercised her right to abortion.
• The girl had beat the shit out of herself.

Now, we have a serious problem: the boy's life is ruined. Even if he does one day get out of jail, he will never amount to anything. He will always be a drain on taxpayer resources, and will never contribute to society.

I am a firm believer that the punishment for a crime should not hurt society more than did the crime - what justification is there in ruining his life completely because he did something that the girl could have legally done anyway?

Yes but Texas is one of the few states that require minors to get parental consent before an abortion can be preformed. I think it's obvious she didn't want to tell her parents about this.

So in theory abortion was illegal for her..

Simple to stop women for getting abortions wether it be bya dctor or themselves. The ironic thing if women stopped gettign abortionand thus the welfare rolls went up and taxes had to be raised to pay for the welfare and food stamp and medcaid for all these unwanted children and not to mention extra $ for foster care because some aprent will simply give up their kids to the govrenmnt. The republicans and Jesus freaks will bitch about that.

Jesus freaks say "Adoption not Abortion" how many have they adopted? I say put your money where your mouth is or STFU.

All she has to do is tell them that she was 18.

A study was done a while back regarding the availability of abortions to minors, including where it required parental consent, and over 80% of clinics did not ask or verify age, or if the patient declared herself to be underage, would tell her to come back the next day and not mention her age next time.

Sure, it might have been illegal for her, but she still had access to the procedure, and could have had it performed with no legal consequences.