New Mexico mother receives 2 1/2 years in prison for neglect that led to the death of her adult son with a disability

From The Daily Times in Farmington, N.M.:

FARMINGTON, N.M. — Sandra Greenwood was sentenced Wednesday in District Court to two and half years in prison for the September 2006 death of her son.

Greenwood was convicted in May of second-degree neglect of a health care resident for the death of her 26-year-old son, Jared, who was found dead and covered in feces, dirt and garbage on the bathroom floor of his Bloomfield home.

The victim had severe autism and mental retardation, and he was cared for by his mother, who was receiving disability assistance until March 2007.

Jared Greenwood died of a blood infection caused by pressure ulcers from lying in the same position for more than a week, according to the Office of the Medical Investigator.

His mother faced 15 years if given the maximum sentence.

"I wasn't aware. It was my fault though I wasn't aware," a tearful Greenwood said during the sentencing. "My problem is I can't say no to helping people. I chose to have my kids with me and I chose to protect them first and I failed Jared."

Greenwood talked about the variety of circumstances that led her to being overwhelmed, such as caring for her ailing mother and suffering from diabetes.

The state asked for Greenwood to be sentenced to seven and a half years.

"Jared Greenwood was a severely mentally disabled young man who depended on his mother his entire life for his health care," prosecutor Carolyn Wilber said. "His mother failed him."

Wilber argued there were few mitigating circumstances, citing Greenwood's claim that she was overwhelmed at the time of Jared Greenwood's death as merely an excuse.

"I was there the day that Jared died. I saw the way Jared died. I smelt the way Jared died and it's nothing anyone should have to suffer," Bloomfield police detective Jonathan Martinez said. "All that Sandra had to do was call for help."

The defense asked for leniency and wanted Greenwood to serve her sentence only on probation.

"It can be easy to minimize what was going on in Ms. Greenwood's life at the time of Jared's death," Public Defender Douglas Wood said. "The troubles in her life are real and are not put forth as excuses."

The defense said sentencing Greenwood to jail time would negatively affect her younger daughter who has Down syndrome and for whom Greenwood was the primary caretaker.

District Court Judge John Dean said the incident is unlikely to happen again and that it was unlikely that she intended for this to happen.

"I think it is unreasonable to say that this defendant does not 0deserve some punishment for her behavior," Dean said. "This didn't happen overnight and any reasonable person in her condition would not only have asked for help but would have received help."

Dean sentenced her to 15 years, but all except two and a half years was suspended. Jail time will be followed by two years of parole and five years of probation.

She will not have to serve 85 percent of the sentence, which is normally required for a serious violent crime, Dean said.

Wood said he will file an appeal.

"We will appeal our objection to the charge itself as well as some issues that came up during trial," he said.

Wood initially filed a motion to drop the neglect of a health care resident charge, arguing that Greenwood was not being paid to care for her son and the charge applies exclusively to care facilities. The motion was denied.

"I'm not giving up on this one," said Wood, who hopes to be involved in the appeal process.