Whitner v. South Carolina

492 S.E.2d 777 (1997)

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Nature of the Case

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Facts

Whitner (D) pled guilty to criminal child neglect for causing her baby to be born with cocaine metabolites in its system due to D's ingestion of cocaine during the third trimester of pregnancy. D was sentenced to eight years in prison. D did not appeal but filed a petition for Post-Conviction Relief pleading lack of subject matter jurisdiction and ineffective assistance of counsel in that her counsel did not advise her that the statute she was being charged under may not apply to prenatal drug use. The petition was granted on both grounds. The State appealed.