Mom Sent to Prison for Life After Feeding Cow’s Milk to Infant Should Be Freed: Pardon Board

A mother-of-four who was sentenced to life in prison for feeding her infant cow's milk after fleeing Hurricane Katrina could be set free after a pardon board vote this week.

Tiffany Woods, now 43, appeared before the Louisiana Board of Parole on Monday to appeal for her release nearly two decades after being convicted of murder.

Woods' son, Emmanuel, was born not long before the historic hurricane struck in 2005. He weighed just over 3lbs, spent over a month in intensive care and was awaiting tests for a genetic abnormality when the family decided to leave the city ahead of Katrina's arrival.

They drove 320 miles to Shreveport and, at the time, the baby was struggling to take formula. Woods fed Emmanuel cow's milk instead, hoping this would go down easier.

A few weeks later, he died of malnutrition. Autopsy photos reportedly showed the baby with thin arms and a sunken, hollow stomach. Feeding cow's milk to children before they turn one year old can put them at risk for intestinal bleeding, according to the CDC. Cows milk also lacks the nutrients babies need to grow, and has more proteins and minerals than a baby's kidneys are able to handle.

Woods and the baby's father Emmanuel Scott were convicted of second degree murder and sentenced to life in prison. Woods was 25 at the time, while Scott was 18.

They were both denied parole, with Louisiana's strict state laws around murder convictions meaning life inside.

Now 43, Woods appealed for her release, telling the Louisiana Board of Pardons on Monday that she knew she had made mistakes.

“At that stage of my life I was a young mother who was trying to take care of her children the best she could. And I made some terrible decisions. But the woman who sits before you today, I’m not that same person,” she told the hearing.

“I was stressed out. I was depressed. I was lonely. My family wasn’t around me. I didn’t know whether they was alive or not. And I made poor choices and my son lost his life because of me."

Her other children appeared in person with her and via video link, with the mother saying she still played a role in their lives despite spending 17 years in jail.

Prosecutor Suzanne Ellis, who had prosecuted the couple in the original case, begged for the panel to maintain the sentence.

“I will go to my grave remembering this baby,” she told the hearing. “This baby was the most pitiful thing I have seen in 26 years.

"Please do not give her an opportunity at release. Do not give her an opportunity to harm another child because I am convinced that if she can, she will.”

Woods argued that she has turned her life around, including taking classes and this appeared to earn the board's approval.

“You’re not the same person that you were,” board member Bonnie Jackson told Woods after returning from deliberations.

The board voted that Woods should go free, but the final decision is down to Louisiana Governor John Bel Edwards.