Even a prosecutor said Hernandez, 32, is a different person than she was a year ago, when she pleaded guilty to second-degree murder in the 2004 death of her son, who was stillborn with methamphetamine in his system.
Hernandez, who had to be consoled in December after the judge sentenced her to 15 years in prison, won an early release by taking advantage of the programs available to her behind bars.
"She has done absolutely everything that I would have wanted her to do,” Oklahoma County District Attorney David Prater said.
The county’s top prosecutor joined Hernandez’s attorneys in asking District Judge Virgil C. Black to suspend the woman’s prison sentence and put her into a private drug treatment center for at least three months.
Black seemed pleased with Hernandez’s progress in prison. That includedcompleting several educational and substance abuse programs in the 11 months since she was sentenced.
He agreed to modify her sentence, then directed a guard from the McLoud prison where she had been incarcerated to remove Hernandez’s handcuffs and ankle shackles.
Hernandez smiled a few minutes later when friends and family greeted her with a short burst of applause as she was led back to the jail to change out of her prison clothes.
Defense attorney Robin Shellow said the decision in court was "absolutely fabulous” for Hernandez.
"Today was a great day in an Oklahoma courtroom,” she said.
Shellow said the Hernandez case shows Oklahoma County is one of the most progressive counties in the nation when it comes to dealing with issues related to pregnancy and addiction.
Hernandez became an unwitting model for many women’s health advocates in 2004 after she was charged with first-degree murder in the death of her unborn son.
They decried her prosecution, claiming there was no proof a mother’s drug use contributes to miscarriages or stillborn babies.
Shellow acknowledged such questions complicated the case against Hernandez, which lasted for more than three years before she pleaded guilty in September 2007 to a reduced charge.
"These are difficult legal issues to sort through,” the Milwaukee attorney said.
Those issues remain, but Hernandez is moving on with her life.
Shellow said Hernandez is free, and drug-free, for the first time in a number of years.
"Now it’s one day at a time for her,” she said.
About the case
Theresa Lee Hernandez was the first woman in Oklahoma to be charged with the murder of her unborn child. She was 32 weeks pregnant when she went into labor. State law considered a pregnancy viable at 24 weeks.
What’s next?
Hernandez’s case may help other pregnant women. District Attorney David Prater said he has talked to legislators and health leaders about forming a pilot program in Oklahoma County to steer pregnant women with drug problems into treatment instead of the court system.
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A judge suspended the sentence of Theresa Lee Hernandez.
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