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ST. GEORGE, Utah (AP) — A Cedar City midwife was found guilty Thursday of manslaughter and reckless endangerment in the death of a premature infant.
The jury came back with the verdict for Vickie Sorensen, 56, after four hours of deliberation. She faces up to 15 years in prison.
Dozens of Sorensen's friends, family, supporters and former clients gasped and cried as the verdict was read, the Spectrum newspaper in St. George reports.
The verdict came after a six-day trial in which prosecutors accused Sorensen of initially trying to deliver the child at her Cedar City birth center without the proper skills or equipment. They said she waited too long to get the mother and her twins to the hospital in the 2012 incident. One of the twins died.
Sorensen's attorneys countered that she was a dedicated midwife and tried to delay the birth until they could get the mother to the hospital. They say snowy conditions that day were to blame.
Sorensen said during the trial that she didn't realize the mother was in labor. She said she thought the woman was experiencing an irritable uterus.
Her attorney, Douglas Terry, told the jury that the events unfolded quickly and that Sorensen was doing her best to save the baby.
"In the heat of the moment we make decisions as we figure out what's going on," he said.
Sentencing is scheduled for Jan. 10.
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Information from: The Spectrum, http://www.thespectrum.com
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