-- Friday afternoon, a jury found a daycare owner and her daughter not guilty of felony murder charges but convicted the two on other charges in the death of a 2-year-old girl left in their care.
Marlo Fallings, 44, and her daughter Quantabia Hopkins, 26, were facing multiple charges in the death of Jazmin Green, who died after being left outside a Jonesboro daycare while strapped to a car seat on June 20, 2011.
After nearly three hours outside in hot summer temperatures, Green was retrieved and rushed to the hospital. She did not survive.
After deliberating for more than 3 hours, a jury found Fallings and Hopkins not guilty of felony murder charges. Fallings was found guilty of reckless conduct. Hopkins was found guilty of involuntary manslaughter, reckless conduct and contributing to the deprivation of a minor. She was found not guilty of another count of cruelty to children.
After the verdict, Fallings fainted in the courtroom. She was quickly revived and was able to walk to her vehicle. She did not make any comments.
State Rep. Sandra Scott (D-Rex) has been working closely with Jazmin's parents for the past three years. This happened in Scott's district, and in 2012, she introduced the Jazmin Green Act -- which would require vans to have an alarm reminding the driver to check for kids left inside. The measure did not pass, but Scott says Friday's verdict makes her all the more determined to try again.
"I'm going to keep reintroducing the bill until the bill becomes law," Scott. said. "Because I think that any daycare provider should want to pay $300 to help ensure safety for all kids."
Since little Jazmin's death, Scott says at least three daycare centers in her Clayton County district have installed the alarms. She says she plans to keep reaching out to encourage more to do the same.
Clayton County Deputy Chief Assistant District Attorney, Deah Warren, wrapped up her closing arguments in less than 30 minutes, telling the jury that in order to find the defendants guilty, all they had to find was that there was reckless disregard by the accused that caused the death of Green.
Warren said that at no time during the three-day trial has she ever suggested there was an intent to cause the child's death, but she pointed out the circumstances that led to it were enough to show reckless disregard.
The prosecution in the case called 12 witnesses and presented 30 exhibits. The defense team maintained all along that leaving Jazmin in the van was nothing more than an accident. The defense spent less than an hour and presented only two witnesses,former workers at Marlo's Magnificent Early Learning Center in Jonesboro.
"It's rough. I'm looking at these people that I trusted for four years with my kids," Jazmin's mother, April McAlister, said.
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