WHITE PLAINS, N.Y. — A woman convicted of
killing her 5-year-old son by poisoning him with
salt got a break on her murder sentence
Wednesday because she suffers from a mental
illness she has refused to acknowledge, the judge
said.
Lacey Spears, 27, of Scottsville, Kentucky, was
sentenced to 20 years to life in prison for the
2014 death of Garnett-Paul Spears at a suburban
New York hospital. Prosecutors said the mother
force-fed high concentrations of sodium through
the boy's stomach tube because she craved the
attention his illness brought her, especially
through her heavy posting on social media.
Acting state Supreme Court Justice Robert Neary
said Spears' crime was "unfathomable in its
cruelty" and brought her son "five years of
torment and pain." But he said he was not
imposing the maximum 25 years to life because
"one does not have to be a psychiatrist to realize
you suffer from Munchausen by proxy."
He said he was offering "something you did not
exhibit toward your son — mercy."
Munchausen by proxy, now known clinically as
factitious disorder imposed on another, is a
disorder in which, in some cases, caretakers
purposely but secretly harm children and then
enjoy the attention and sympathy they receive.
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