Ricin Suspect Gives Birth 4 Months Early: Baby Boy Rushed to Hospital for Care
Shannon Guess Richardson, the woman accused of sending ricin-laced letters to Mayor Michael Bloomberg and President Barack Obama gave birth to a baby boy while behind bars. The baby, named Brody, was born four months early and weighed less than two pounds.
Richardson gave birth at Longview Regional Hospital on July 4, approximately four months earlier than expected. The baby was named Brody and quickly transferred to another hospital for surgery and special treatment related to his premature birth and low weight, Richardson's attorney, John Delk, told the Texarkana Gazette.
The case against Richardson was made fuzzy by the fact that she called the FBI to say that her husband, Nathaniel, was the one who sent the letters to Bloomberg and Obama. Nathaniel was initially questioned by the FBI but was released without being charged. He told authorities that it was his wife who sent the letters.
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Richardson has been held since last month and was pregnant when taken into custody. She faces up to 10 years in prison if convicted of mailing a threatening letter to President Obama. However, her lawyer has argued that Richardson never meant to hurt anyone because the mail would have been checked before reaching the leaders.
"From what I can say, based on what evidence I've seen, whoever did this crime never intended for ricin to reach the people to which the letters were addressed," Richardson's lawyer Tonda Curry told the Associated Press.
The letters included threats over the second amendment right to bear arms. Both Obama and Bloomberg have lobbied for gun control, and Richardson was apparently not pleased with that.
"You will have to kill me and my family before you get my guns," one note read. "Anyone who wants to come to my house will get shot in the face. The right to bear arms is my constitutional, God-given right and I will exercise that right till the day I die. What's in this letter is nothing compared to what I've got planned for you," the actress allegedly wrote.
