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An Ecuadorean mother who pled guilty to killing her newborn baby in New York has been given 12 years in prison.

Maria Guaman-Guaman, an illegal immigrant who will be deported after she is released, was convicted on first-degree manslaughter for strangling her son to death. She originally faced a second-degree murder charge, but after two psychiatrists found that she was not fully mentally capable, the charge was lowered, per existing law.

That changed the potential prison time from 25 years to life for second-degree murder to 5-to-25 years for the lesser charge. She pled guilty on June 23, where it was expected she would be sentenced to 15 years in prison.

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However, during the sentencing phase of her trial, state Supreme Court Justice William Kelly said that the case was not simply a matter of what Guaman-Guaman's actions entailed. He noted that psychiatric reports said she suffered brain damage from being kicked by a horse, as well as a small level of mental retardation. The accident left her disfigured, and with only one eye.

Kelly said that the modern stresses in Guaman-Guaman's life, such as being poor and isolated, as well as long hours doing menial factory work and caring for a three-year old daughter, made for an “extreme emotional disturbance” when her son was born. According to her defense attorney, Guaman-Guaman was also paying off a $10,000 debt that allowed her to come to the U.S.

“I don't think this was a deliberate, conscious decision,” Kelly said. He settled on a 12-year sentence with a five-year supervision period, as well as deportation.

Guaman-Guaman said that she considered giving up her son for adoption, including to a church, but “the devil entered her body” and she killed the baby. She put him in a recycling bin at a convenience store, and he was later found at a recycling center. Police nicknamed him “Baby Angel” as they worked to identify him.