COLUMNISTS
DIARY
SPECIALS
INTERVIEWS
CAPITAL BUZZ
REDIFF POLL
DEAR REDIFF
THE STATES
YEH HAI INDIA!
ELECTIONS
ARCHIVES

Search Rediff

Basuta Sentencing Postponed For Second Time But Judge Refuses To Allow Fresh Trial

R S Shankar

For the second time a judge has postponed sentencing Manjit Basuta convicted of killing Baby Oliver Smith in the daycare center she had run in an affluent part of San Diego. The first time Judge William Kennedy postponed the trial by a month because of the scheduling conflict faced by the defense lawyer.

But this time, he said he was worried about the California law which demands, what many legal experts believe to be a harsher sentence than in other states for baby killers.

"We are dealing with a human being's life," said Kennedy on Thursday. The case has received big publicity in the state, and Basuta's lawyer, Eugene Iredale, has publicly hinted that the all-white jury was conscious of the color of her skin and the presence of large number of Sikh sympathizers in the court during the trial.

However, Judge Kennedy rejected a defense motion for a new trial.

Manjit Basuta, 44, a nurse from India who holds British citizenship, faced possible sentences ranging from probation to a prison term of 25 years to life. She was convicted under a recent statute for fatal assault on a child. Since the trial began, her family has lost all its savings, according to friends. Her husband, also called Manjit, has lost his house and has moved to a relative's home with his children.

Family members, friends and her neighbors -- most of them being non-Indians -- have rallied to her support. A fund-raising was started a few weeks ago. The family has refused to say how much money has been sent. At a rally held in the Indian shopping district over 100 people turned up.

Iredale said he was heartened by the postponement but disappointed by the denial of his motion. "Judge Kennedy has shown himself to be a judge of fairness, a person of compassion," he said.

Kennedy said he was concerned that if he sentenced Basuta to life it might be cruel and unusual punishment, but that probation could be found to be too lenient.

He has asked attorneys to research sentencing for similar cases in other states, and sentencing in cases with similar charges in California.

When the child was found unconscious in Basuta's care on March 17, 1998, housekeeper and witness Christina Carrillo told the police that the boy had fallen and hurt himself. Later, she testified that Basuta shook Oliver Smith because he insisted on watching television and slammed his head on the floor.

Carrillo, a Guatemalan citizen living illegally in America, said later that she initially lied to authorities about the fall because. Basuta had threatened to report her to the immigration authorities and have her deported if she told the truth.

Basuta, who did not testify during the trial, said soon after the conviction that she was convicted because Carillo had lied under oath. She insisted that Oliver was injured when another child pushed him to the ground.

At the trial, Iredale argued that the boy died from a previous head injury, possibly at the hands of his mother. The boy's mother had been accused of hurting him by her estranged husband during divorce proceedings but Judge Kennedy would not allow that issue brought before the jury because allegations were later dropped.

Next story: Racist Billboards Evoke Strong Protests In New York

Tell us what you think of this report