Prison sentence was not a goal in ice case
By David Waite
Advertiser Courts Writer
City prosecutors never intended to imprison a Kane'ohe woman who pleaded no contest yesterday to a manslaughter charge of recklessly killing her 2-day-old son by smoking crystal methamphetamine while pregnant, the prosecutor handling the case said.
Jeff Widener • The Honolulu Advertiser
As part of a plea agreement, Tayshea Aiwohi will be placed on 10 years probation when she is sentenced Aug. 25 and won't have to serve prison time for man-slaughter, which carries a prison term of up to 20 years.
Tayshea Aiwohi, with state Deputy Public Defender Todd Eddins, pleaded no contest yesterday in the reckless death of her child.
"Our object was never to throw this defendant in jail," said city Deputy Prosecutor Glenn Kim. "She's got five other kids, and I understand that since this tragic death, she has cleaned her act up."
Aiwohi, 31, pleaded no contest in Hawai'i's first case charging a woman with killing or injuring her child for her behavior while pregnant. She was charged with killing her son, Treyson, who was born alive July 17, 2001, but later died with a toxic level of methamphetamine in his system.
Her lawyer, state Deputy Public Defender Todd Eddins, said Aiwohi accepted the plea agreement to avoid the possibility that she might be convicted at trial and sentenced to prison. Eddins said he was confident Aiwohi would have prevailed had the case gone to trial, but he said going to trial with any case "is often a crap shoot."
Based on Eddins' instructions, Aiwohi would not talk about the case after the hearing.
But during the brief 15-minute hearing, she stood at the defense table in black slacks and a white blouse and wore two lei. Circuit Judge Michael Town asked Aiwohi a battery of questions, primarily to be sure she understood what she was doing by entering the no-contest plea.
When asked what the results of a urinalysis would be if he were to order one on the spot, Aiwohi answered without hesitation, "Negative."
Aiwohi's case drew widespread attention with some social-services providers and healthcare professionals urging prosecutors to drop the charge. They argued that prosecution would discourage pregnant drug abusers from seeking adequate care for themselves and their unborn babies.
But yesterday, Linda Rich, Salvation Army Family Treatment Services clinical director, praised the decision by the prosecutor's office to offer Aiwohi the plea agreement. "I'm very happy for Miss Aiwohi that she is going to be able to avoid a long drawn-out court proceeding that would probably be very destructive to her and her family."
Kim said the plea agreement accomplishes two things.
"First, it means that the defendant will be held accountable for her actions — for what she did —and secondly, and more importantly, we were able to get justice for the baby, Treyson," Kim said.
Prominent Honolulu defense attorney Brook Hart, who was not involved in the case, said the prosecution may have offered a plea bargain because the case was weak. "Or perhaps even more likely, they never really had any intention of punishing the woman, but wanted to get the word out to other women who abuse drugs while pregnant that they may face criminal prosecution," Hart said.
Kim, however, said he never would have brought the case against Aiwohi if he felt it was a weak one and unlikely to bring a conviction.
Town earlier this month refused to dismiss the case on constitutional and common law immunity grounds. As part of the plea agreement, Aiwohi will still be able to appeal Town's decision. If an appeals court sides with Aiwohi, the case against her will be dropped and the manslaughter conviction will be expunged.
A decision by the Hawai'i Supreme Court or the Intermediate Court of Appeals would also establish law binding on the courts on whether a woman can be charged criminally for behavior while pregnant that affects the child.
Kim said he hopes the prosecution of Aiwohi and her no-contest plea will deter other pregnant women from using drugs. He said Aiwohi told investigators that she smoked crystal meth on each of the three days leading up to her son's birth and once on the day that she gave birth.
"What I really hope is that we never have another case like this, a situation where another woman binges on ice and kills her baby," Kim said.
Eddins will have 30 days to file the appeal after Aiwohi is sentenced Aug. 25.
"In our view, the case should never have been charged in the first place," Eddins said. "We contend that this kind of prosecution is unconstitutional and not supported by our (state) laws."
He said Aiwohi and her family were "devastated" when Aiwohi was indicted in October on the manslaughter charge.
"They had been living a quiet life and had gotten over the tragedy that took place more than two-and-a-half years ago," Eddins said.
Reach David Waite at dwaite@honoluluadvertiser.com or 525-8030.
