Alexis Avila, a 19-year-old mother from New Mexico, has been sentenced to 18 years in prison for throwing her newborn son into a trash dumpster behind a shopping center.
Alexis Avila was sentenced to 18 years in prison for throwing a newborn into a trash dumpster
The sentence was handed down on Monday, but two years of the punishment were suspended by the state district judge, William Shoobridge, citing mental health concerns and Avila’s age. Avila was convicted of child abuse involving great bodily harm following a trial in which her public defender argued that her actions were not premeditated and that a previously undiagnosed mental health disorder played a role.
The judge noted that had it not been for luck and the grace of God, he would have been deliberating a sentence in a murder case, as there was a high probability the child would have died had it not been found that winter day in Hobbs, near the Texas border. During the sentencing, Avila expressed remorse and said that she wants to learn how to deal with stress and anxiety. Her public defender said that while Avila’s actions were wrong, they were the result of her bipolar disorder, and she was dissociated and detached from her feelings.
Avila was arrested in January 2022 after a group of people found the baby in a trash bin and tried to keep the boy warm until police and paramedics arrived
Investigators used surveillance video to identify a car suspected of being involved, which led them to Avila. Avila’s case has sparked new conversations among legislators and communities about the state’s safe haven law, which allows parents to leave a baby younger than 90 days at a safe location without criminal consequences.
New Mexico lawmakers have approved a bill to expand the state’s Safe Haven Program and provide funds to build one baby box for every county where an infant can be left.
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