A Missouri woman has been found guilty of manslaughter and child neglect in the death of her 13-month-old son, who was only 10 pounds when he died.
A jury convicted Bambi Jackson, 35, on the two counts Wednesday afternoon in the January 2016 death of Justus Jackson, KSPR-TV reported.
Emergency responders arrived at Jackson’s Reed Springs home to find the child not breathing. His official cause of death was low blood pressure and dehydration.
Prosecutors said Jackson didn't provide adequate care for her son or seek immediate medical attention when he stopped breathing, according to The Associated Press.
"It's one thing to be a loving parent, but with that there comes responsibility,” said prosecutor Matt Selby. “Our argument is that responsibility includes making sure a child eats and drinks, grows. If those things don't happen, to seek medical attention to figure out why that is not happening and try to remedy that situation."
Jackson’s defense attorney, Joe Passanise, said his client didn’t believe she did anything wrong. Her other children were small, Passanise said.
"It was never her intent to knowingly create a substantial risk to her child. For that, she wanted her day in court," said Passanise.
The child's father, Joshua Jackson, was able to avoid prison by entering an Alford plea to involuntary manslaughter, meaning he claimed he is innocent of the crime but admitted the prosecution had enough evidence to convict him.
Bambi Jackson faces up to 11 years in prison. She is scheduled to be sentenced in September.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
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