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Jacob Anfinson was two weeks old when he drowned.
His mother Heidi says Jacob accidentally drowned at home in his bath.
The state of Iowa claimed Heidi purposely drowned Jacob at Saylorville
Lake north
of the Anfinson home in Des Moines, Iowa.
Another
case of senseless, unexplainable murder we read about everyday, right?
Or, is it something much more complex? Is Heidi a victim of
our cruelest prejudice - a poster child for society's cold blindness to postpartum
illnesses, and a criminal justice system that is programmed to dole out simplistic "justice"?
Heidi was convicted of second-degree murder in
2000. She and her family
contend postpartum
depression or psychosis was at fault in Jacob's death.
Heidi has
served five years of her 50 year sentence.
Note:
Much of the material on EveryPurpose was written
based on Heidi's criminal trial in 2000, where her lawyer specifically excluded postpartum
depression as having any role in Jacob's death.
However, Heidi has a post-conviction hearing
scheduled for
August 2005 where she argues her original criminal lawyer was negligent
for not investigating a postpartum defense. See the September 20th
story for more details.
Heidi and husband Mike, along with their familes,
vigorously maintain
Heidi's innocence. A portion of the Anfinson story is told in our
links below.
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