Court Upholds Homicide Conviction On Hamden Woman For Toddler's Death

On Wednesday, the state Supreme Court upheld a conviction of a Hamden women for negligent homicide, after she withheld all liquids to a 23-month-old boy for a week, causing him to die of dehydration.

In 2008, Sharon Patterson of Hamden babysat 23-month-old Amari Jackson for more than a week, as his mother was sick, according to the Associated Press. During that time, she refused all liquids to the boy to stop him from wetting the bed, and he died of dehydration, according to the AP.

She was later convicted in 2009 for negligent homicide and other charges for the death, according to the AP. Her lawyers appealed the conviction, saying that Patterson has an IQ of 61 and her mental disability prevented her from knowing that withholding liquids would cause the boy to die, according to the AP.

That claim was rejected Wednesday by the state Supreme Court and her conviction upheld, according to the AP. Patterson, 44, was released from prison in October and is now on probation, according to the AP.