On second thought ...

It's not good to be delusional, especially when one's future hangs in the balance. Perhaps that's sinking in now for Jessica Rizor, who faces life in prison without parole after her conviction for the November 2004 suffocation death of her newborn daughter at her Washington home. You see, Rizor had the opportunity to take a deal from prosecutors that would have netted her a sentence of five to 30 years. She already has been jailed for three-and-a-half years awaiting trial, so it wouldn't have taken her much longer to get to the minimum end of the sentence. Rizor's attorney, Bob Brady, reportedly counseled her to take the deal while the taking was good, but she refused. So Brady, who is recognized as one of the area's best criminal defense lawyers, was left with the unenviable task of getting a jury to believe his client's story, which was pretty much unbelievable. Rizor claimed she didn't know she was pregnant, even though people were asking her if she was pregnant because of her obvious weight gain, and she apparently lacked the sufficient curiosity to grab one of those home-pregnancy tests on her next trip to the drugstore. She then told police that on the day of the birth, she was stunned - stunned, I tell you - when an 8-pound baby hit the exit ramp. She thought the labor pains were menstrual cramps. Yep, that was her story. Now, I've never had menstrual cramps or a baby, but you women out there might be able to attest to the fact that there's a pretty big difference on the pain scale. And an 8-pound baby doesn't just shoot out like a greased pig on a water slide. Rizor also claimed the baby was dead on arrival, which a medical expert testified was not the case. And even if she believed the baby was not breathing, wouldn't you think she might call 911 to get some medical help for the child? The whole story was bullcrap, and the jury didn't take long to recognize that. It appears their only question was whether to convict Rizor of third-degree murder or first-degree, premeditated murder. They wisely chose the latter. And Rizor, barring a successful appeal, can spend every day of the rest of her life in a prison cell, thinking about her actions and wishing she had taken the deal.