Crime & Safety
Judge Won't Lessen Sentence of Mom Who Killed Disabled Daughter
The lawyer for Bonnie Liltz argues that his client will die in prison because of her poor health if her 4-year jail sentence isn't reduced.
The Schaumburg mother convicted of killing her disabled daughter with an overdose of pills will not have her sentenced reduced, a judge ruled Wednesday, according to the Chicago Tribune.
Bonnie Liltz was sentenced to four years in prison after she pleaded guilty in May to involuntary manslaughter and admitted to giving her 28-year-old adopted daughter who suffered from cerebral palsy a deadly dose of pills through her feeding tube. Liltz originally pleaded not guilty to first-degree murder in the 2015 case before accepting a plea deal for a lesser charge.
Thomas Glasgow, Liltz's lawyer, asked Judge Joel Greenblatt to reconsider his sentence because of his client's poor health. Liltz—a two-time cancer survivor who suffered from bowel issues stemming from ovarian cancer she was diagnosed with when she was 19—was hospitalized for an infection and dehydration connected to her pre-existing medical conditions in late May just days after being taken to Cook County Jail.
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Liltz currently is at a correctional facility in southern Illinois, and her health has worsened, the Tribune reports. Glasgow says he believes Liltz will die in prison if she isn't shown leniency, the report added.
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Greenblatt, however, said he didn't feel circumstances had changed to convince him that he should reduce the punishment, the report stated. Plus, he felt his sentence was already lenient, the report added. Fourteen years was the maximum jail time Liltz could have faced.
Glasgow isn't giving up trying to get some leniency for his client. His next plan is to file a motion with the Illinois Appellate Court, allowing Liltz to be released from jail during the appeal process, the report stated.
PHOTO: Bonnie (right) and Courtney Liltz (Bonnie Liltz | Facebook)
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