A mother who gave her baby methadone in an attempt to stop him from crying has been jailed for three years.
Susan Taylor, 29, almost killed her 10-month-old son by rubbing his dummy in a measuring cup made for methadone, the Edinburgh High Court of Justiciary heard.
Her partner, Lynn Cowan, was jailed for 10 months at Edinburgh Sheriff Court this week. She had admitted failing to tell medical staff that the baby had been given methadone.
The Guardian reports that Taylor had been sentenced in September last year but the reporting of the case was banned until Cowan's case had been heard.
Taylor is currently serving a 26-month sentence for assault and will start her new sentence after this ends.
The Guardian reports that when sentencing Taylor last year, Lord Bannatyne said: "It is my view that there's a high degree of recklessness and culpability involved in the course of this offence."
The court had heard that Taylor had been prescribed the heroin substitute to help her deal with her addiction.
The Guardian reports that on the 22nd of November, 2008, Taylor called 999 when she discovered that her baby son was not breathing.
The baby apparently had blue lips and vomit on his face, but paramedics reported that Taylor appeared "disinterested" when they arrived at her flat.
The Guardian reports that advocate Depute Morag Jack, prosecuting, said: "They immediately noticed that he did not appear to be breathing apart from a single gasp for air. He was cold to touch, however there was a pulse."
Taylor admitted that she had given her son methadone on "a number of occasions", according to the newspaper.
However the court heard that she had a troubled upbringing herself and had "no concept" of how dangerous it could be to give methadone to a baby.
Doctors have apparently warned that there could be long-term side-effects for the baby, who could suffer from behavioural and learning difficulties due to his ordeal.
Which raises the question - is three years long enough?
Source: The Guardian