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Connecticut Mother Flushed Baby Down Toilet, To Be Freed Sept. 30

By Tito Ojo-Medubi
Published on: 03:33 PST, Sep 8, 2016

Panna Krom, a woman who confessed to drowning her newborn child in a toilet when she was 17, is set to be released, CBS News is reporting. Panna Krom had her 18-year prison sentence commuted by the state Board of Pardons and Paroles Wednesday. She is set to be released September 30.

The 26-year-old had been imprisoned at the Janet York Correctional Institution in Connecticut where she was described as a model prisoner who completed over 15 college credits with impressive grades. The board heard arguments for about an hour and reached a decision after seven minutes of closed-door deliberation before releasing the former senior Dansbury High school student.

Panna Krom, who was surprised by the board’s decision, said that her time at the correctional facility was a “harsh blessing” as she had changed from living a life of recklessness to a life of honesty. She also admitted being plagued every day by her crime, which she said was a “terrible event that deeply affected many lives, none more than my daughter, Angel.”

Krom apologized to the parole board for taking her daughter’s life and for being an “irresponsible mother.” The 26-year-old had killed her child in 2006 because she feared a backlash from her family. She pleaded guilty to charges of murder and bagged an 18-year sentence for her crimes. Her lawyers later reached a plea deal, and had the charges reviewed from murder to manslaughter and provided parole eligibility by January, 2019.

“I now know how irresponsible actions can result in dire consequence, a notion that my 17-year-old mentality could not accept.”

The defendant’s lawyer, Vicki Hutchinson, during the parole hearing, had argued that the sentence was too severe, adding that people in similar circumstances averaged about five months for their actions.

“The sentence imposed in Panna Krom’s case is 12 times the longest other sentence imposed for similarly situated girls.”

Hutchinson said that Krom had served over nine years of her sentence, earned a high school diploma and concluded six semesters of college work with good grades. The lawyer said her client needed to be given the chance for a fresh start.

Krom said she was immature and scared, believing that adoption and abortion were not really options for her because her parents would still find out she was pregnant. Panna felt at that time the only way could make it all go away was by killing the baby.

The soon-to-be ex-convict expressed regret that she was not aware of the Connecticut’s Safe Haven law, which allows a mother to anonymously drop off a baby less than 30 days old at a hospital without legal repercussions or fear of arrest.

Panna Krom promised to make something out of her life beyond the prison walls and pay back her parents who traveled to see her every week. She revealed plans to also continue her education find work and enlighten potentially young mothers about the Connecticut’s Safe Haven law.

https://www.facebook.com/HartfordHospital/photos/a.311417424712.146304.44705824712/10153879369444713/?type=3

“There is nothing more that I can do behind these prison walls to rehabilitate myself, but I can help people on the outside and also continue to make myself a better person.”

Danbury State’s Attorney Stephen J. Sedensky III had objected to the clemency deal asking for the board to let her remain in confinement and apply for her release when she was eligible for parole in 2019.

Sendensky called Panna Krom’s crime “the intentional killing of a total innocent” after she repeatedly flushed the toilet to drown her child. He argued that the state had pardoned Panna enough by offering her a plea deal and commuting her sentence from murder to manslaughter. Hutchinson said Panna Krom’s continued incarceration would serve no justifiable sense of punishment for anyone.

[Photo by iStock]

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