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Kimbrough talked about her arrest following the death of her third child, Timmy Jr. Born premature at 25 weeks on April 29, 2008, Timmy Jr. weighed 2 pounds 1 ounce, and lived only 19 minutes. When Kimbrough tested positive for methamphetamine, her two daughters were swiftly removed from her custody, and for 90 days, she was allowed only supervised visits. Social services mandated parenting classes and drug treatment.

That would have been a typical response in most places, but Alabama is different. Six months after Timmy Jr.’s death, the district attorney in Colbert County charged Kimbrough with chemical endangerment of a child, a Class A felony (because the infant died) that carries a mandatory sentence of 10 years to life. She turned herself in, and bail was set at $250,000. At the trial, the state completed its case in two days. On the advice of her lawyer, Kimbrough then pleaded guilty and received the minimum sentence of 10 years.

According to Kyle Brown, the chief assistant district attorney in the case, Kimbrough might have received far more time if a jury had found her guilty. “She caused the death of another person,” Angela Hulsey, an assistant district attorney on the case, said, “a person that will never have the chance to go to school, go to the prom, get married, have children of their own. You’re dealing with the most innocent of victims.”