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A adoptive mother, who was sentenced to life in prison in the first trial for killing an adopted child Jeong In-i after abuse, was commuted to 35 years in prison in the second trial.
Although the crime of murder was acknowledged as it is, the sentence was reduced by saying that we cannot hold the adoptive parents responsible for the lack of a child protection system in our society.
Reporter Minji Gu reports.
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After being abused for four months by her adoptive mother, Jeong-in just passed away and died.
Mother Jang, who was handed over to trial for murder, was sentenced to life in prison at the first trial in May.
At today’s appeals trial, held after half a year, the unwritten intention of murder was recognized as it is.
“Mr. Jang knew that if you hit Jeong-in, whose health deteriorated due to continuous abuse, she could die,” he said.
The court, however, found that there was no intention of deliberate murder, such as performing CPR on the day of death.
“Mr. Jang is having trouble controlling his anger, but there is a possibility that he will improve during his imprisonment, so it is impossible to determine the risk of recidivism,” he added.
He was sentenced to 35 years in prison, which greatly reduced the sentence.
“The crime against humanity and antisocial behavior caused great anger and sadness in society, but life imprisonment needs to be carefully considered,” he said.
In particular, he pointed out that the child protection system in our society is not functioning properly.
The court’s judgment is that social responsibility cannot be reflected in the sentencing, as the police and child protection agencies did not respond appropriately, such as separation measures, even after three reports of suspected abuse.
However, given the seriousness of the crime, there is also a backlash of excessive commutation.
[김예원/장애인권법센터 변호사]
“It is a very tragic case to be considered as an incident caused by an insufficient child protection system. It is quite regrettable that the sentence was commuted simply blaming the lack of follow-up care after adoption.”
Stepfather Ahn Mo, who was charged with aiding in the abuse, was sentenced to five years in prison, the same as the first trial.
When the trial was over, the outrage of citizens gathered from all over the country erupted inside and outside the courthouse.
[공혜정/대한아동학대방지협회 대표]
“This child has lost his life. I doubt the courts in the Republic of Korea have the will to end child abuse.”
Prosecutors said they would decide whether to fight again in the Supreme Court after reviewing the verdict.
This is Minji Gu from MBC News.
Video coverage: Hyun Ki-taek / Video editing: Kim Jae-hwan
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