Posted on: Wednesday, July 6, 2005

Court asked to overturn ruling

By Peter Boylan
Advertiser Staff Writer

A national coalition of drug treatment professionals and public-health advocates yesterday asked the Hawai'i Supreme Court to overturn the manslaughter conviction of an Island woman whose baby died two days after birth from a lethal level of methamphetamine in his blood.

The coalition argues that drug abuse during pregnancy is a serious public-health issue, and that prosecuting drug-addicted mothers would deter others from seeking treatment. The mother, Tayshea Aiwohi of Kane'ohe, was sentenced to 10 years probation in August 2004 for recklessly killing her 2-day-old child by smoking crystal methamphetamine while pregnant.

Aiwohi said she had smoked ice the day of the birth and on the three preceding days, according to grand jury testimony. The ruling was the first time the state held a woman criminally responsible for conduct during pregnancy that leads to the death of a child.

"Punishing women for failing to have healthy pregnancy outcomes undermines healthcare for both pregnant women and their future children by frightening women away from that healthcare," Dr. Leslie Hartley Gise, a clinical professor of psychiatry at the John A. Burns School of Medicine at the University of Hawai'i and a member of the coalition that filed the suit, said in a statement: "Suggesting that a pregnant woman who is struggling with a drug-dependency problem is no different from a man who attacks her, reflects a terrible disregard for pregnant women and a profound misunderstanding of the nature of drug dependency."

Deputy City Prosecutor Glenn Kim, who represented the state in the Aiwohi case, said yesterday afternoon that he had not read the filing but had expected it.

"I have no doubt that these are good-intentioned people who have their own view of the matter, but we just think they're wrong," said Kim. "I mean, you know, a child died. Last time I checked, part of what the prosecutor is supposed to do is speak up for victims. The trial court agreed with us, and I'm confident the Supreme Court will agree with us also."

The amicus curiae, or friend of the court, brief was filed by counsel for the National Advocates for Pregnant Women, a group of more than 60 state and national public-health, child-welfare, and drug-treatment organizations.

Aiwohi's probation sentence is part of a plea agreement, but Circuit Judge Michael Town said at the time of her sentencing that unless Hawai'i's appeals court rules otherwise, the state has shown that drug abuse by a pregnant woman can lead to felony charges.

Aiwohi, 31, faced a manslaughter charge over the death of her son, Treyson, who was born July 17, 2001. The infant died two days later from a fatal level of methamphetamine in his blood.

Aiwohi and her lawyer, Todd Eddins, asked that the charge be thrown out, but Town upheld the charge in June 2004.

Eddins filed an appeal with the Hawai'i Supreme Court on March 14. Oral arguments are scheduled for Oct. 19.

Manslaughter carries a maximum 20-year prison term, but about two weeks after Town's decision, prosecutors and Aiwohi entered the plea agreement that called for probation.

Reach Peter Boylan at 535-8110 or pboylan@honoluluadvertiser.com.