A woman has been sentenced to four years in prison after she was found guilty of first-degree manslaughter following a miscarriage allegedly brought on by drug use.
Brittney Poolaw, who was 19 at the time of her pregnancy, admitted to medical staff that she had consumed methamphetamine (meth) and cannabis.
She was rushed to Comanche County Memorial Hospital, Oklahoma, in January 2020 after reportedly giving birth at home. Her foetus was just 17 weeks old at the time.
Poolaw was accused of causing the stillbirth in October 2020 after a medical examiner’s report listed the cause of death to be “intrauterine foetal demise” due to maternal meth use.
In a further toxicology report the foetus tested positive for meth and amphetamine (speed), although a doctor who testified in the case said that the drugs may not have been the direct cause of death.
Poolaw was arrested in March this year and has been in prison ever since, unable to pay her $20,000 bond