Woman who killed son won't get death penalty
ChicagoTribune; October 5, 2003

CHICAGO-- A Cook County judge ruled Friday that a Chicago woman convicted of drowning her 3-year-old son in 1997 is not eligible for the death penalty.

During the first day of Veronica Diaz's sentencing hearing, the judge rejected a defense petition for a new trial.

"The judge said the crime was brutal beyond the norm but not brutal enough to find her eligible for the death penalty," said Tom Stanton, spokesman for the state's attorney office.

Defense attorneys wanted to retry the case because the statement Diaz signed was written in English and she speaks only Spanish. Diaz, 27, is a Mexican citizen.

Diaz has congenital liver disease and needs kidney and liver transplants, said Marijane Placek, Diaz's public defender.