“If you lock her up, you might as well throw away the key because she’ll never recover,” defense attorney Gavin Wolch said in his sentencing submission Friday. Last November, Nina Albright, 24, pleaded guilty to indecent assault on a body. Albright was 19 when she gave birth at her parents’ home in the southeast Sundance community on December 24, 2017. Three medical examiners found that the baby was born alive, but were unable to say how the infant died. Prosecutor Vicki Faulkner asked District Court Judge John Bascom to sentence him to three to six months in prison. Wolch argued for an absolute discharge for his client, meaning she would have no criminal conviction on her record.
“Prison is not suitable”
Today the judge indicated that he will not send Albright to prison. “I’m not thinking of putting Ms. Albright in jail,” District Court Judge John Bascom said. “I have come to the conclusion that actual prison is not appropriate.” Bascom said he needs time to consider alternatives to time behind bars and reserved his decision for next month. Albright told police that a minute or two after she gave birth on Dec. 24, the baby stopped breathing. She said she tried to clear the baby’s airway but admitted she didn’t call for help. Albright placed the infant’s body in a bag along with towels. Her boyfriend at the time – not the child’s father – was waiting outside to take her to his house for the night. On the way, Albright had the man stop at the community recycling depot in Bones, where she placed the infant in the dumpster. Hours later, a man discovered the body and called the police. It took investigators two years to track down Albright and make the arrest.
“She deserves forgiveness”
Wolch painted Albright as a young woman whose life has been defined by struggle. Albright is native and adopted. Her birth mother struggled with alcoholism, and Albright was born with fetal alcohol spectrum disorder (FASD). He has also been diagnosed with PTSD, depression and anxiety. Albright is currently on Severely Disabled Income Support (AISH) and will need lifelong supports such as guardianship, public trustee and social services. “Nina Albright is being sentenced for a terrible decision she made five years ago and has been tormenting her ever since,” Wolch said. “I am asking you to tell Nina Albright that she deserves forgiveness and that we must show her that justice knows mercy.”
“trashed”
On the other side of the sentencing hearing were the victims. The infant, the father who never met his daughter, the man who discovered the baby’s body and the police officer who was first on the scene. Three victim impact statements were read to the court. Const. Sandra Kraushaar described being called to the Bowness area on a “very cold winter’s night”. She spotted an old man waving frantically at her as she approached, noticed he was shaking and had tears in his eyes. “There he was, a real baby, thrown in the garbage can like garbage,” Kraushaar said.
The father found out about the baby’s birth years later
It was Christmas Eve and so the police officer and her partner named the little girl Eva. “He should have had a lot more,” the officer said. Kraushaar says she now struggles with anxiety and can’t attend to certain calls. The baby’s father, Alfred Sonido, never knew of his child’s existence until Albright’s conception. He said he was “devastated” to learn what happened to his baby. Sonido said he suffered from depression, anxiety and grief. “I feel broken,” Sonido wrote.
