Lacey Spears gets 20 years to life in salt-poisoning murder of son

WHITE PLAINS, N.Y. (WABC) -- A judge on Wednesday sentenced Lacey Spears to 20 years to life in the death of her son, less than what prosecutors were requesting.

The prosecution was seeking the maximum sentence for the 27-year-old Spears, who was convicted of killing 5-year-old Garnett-Paul Spears by poisoning him with salt. The young mother, of Scottsville, Kentucky, was found guilty last month of second-degree murder.

Spears force fed heavy concentrations of sodium through the boy's stomach tube at a New York hospital, resulting in his death in January 2014.

Acting state Supreme Court Justice Robert Neary said Spears' crime was "unfathomable in its cruelty" and brought her son "five years of torment and pain." But he said he was not imposing the maximum 25 years to life because "one does not have to be a psychiatrist to realize you suffer from Munchausen by proxy."

Munchausen by proxy is a disorder in which, in some cases, caretakers purposely but secretly harm children and then enjoy the attention and sympathy they receive.

The maximum that could have been imposed was 25 years to life. The minimum was 15 to life. Spears displayed no emotion at the moment of sentencing.

Defense attorneys said the evidence did not prove murder and have promised an appeal of the conviction. Spears did not testify at the trial.

Spears' attorneys had refused to raise the disorder as a defense, and both sides agreed not to mention it at trial. After the sentencing, defense lawyer Stephen Riebling said it was odd for the judge to bring it up because Spears "hasn't been diagnosed with any mental illness."

Defense lawyer David Sachs said Spears was "a hard-working single mother who gave her son unconditional love." But prosecutor Doreen Lloyd, arguing for the maximum sentence, told the judge that Spears' actions "were inhuman, they were despicable and they were evil."

Lloyd said Spears used the boy's feeding tube "as a weapon to kill him."

"Garnett Spears should be in school today, and he's not because his mother murdered him," she told the judge.

Spears, an Alabama native, was living with her son in Chestnut Ridge, New York, when he died. She moved to Kentucky afterward and was living there when she was arrested.

Spears blogged for years about her son's constant health woes and barely flinched as the jury foreman read the verdict after the two-week trial. Her sister and father consoled each other at the time.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.