South Florida mother accused of drowning infant daughter claims COVID-induced insanity
A South Florida woman who is accused of drowning her infant daughter five years ago is claiming that COVID made her temporarily insane, and hopes that legal defense will exonerate her of the crime.
Precious Bland rejected a plea offer in court on Monday morning.
She was charged with second degree murder after prosecutors claimed she confessed to drowning her 15-month-old daughter in a bathtub in 2021.
"Either the jury finds you not guilty by reason of insanity, but if they find you guilty I may have to sentence you to life in prison," the judge said in court on Monday.
CBS news Miami asker her lawyer why she turned down the deal.
"I don't believe that. Person should accept responsibility for actions that they have no knowledge of," attorney Larry Handfield said.
Bland was also charged with stabbing her husband and other daughter. Bland's husband told police she had been screaming that Jesus was coming, and everyone was going to die from COVID-19.
Bland's husband also told officers that she was saying everyone needed to be baptized in the bathtub.
"She felt at that time that was the only way they were going to be saved," Handfield said.
Handfield argued that Bland was going through a psychotic episode due to contracting COVID-19 that day.
So, he had a psychological evaluation done. The evaluator found that Bland was suffering psychosis due to having COVID-19. And in the state's own insanity evaluation of Bland, the evaluator wrote he "is in agreement with Dr. Mark Milk (Defense expert) who likewise concluded that Ms. Bland satisfied the M'Naghten Standard for insanity at the time of the offenses."
"This was an unfortunate situation," Handfield said. "Probably one of the first cases in the country where COVID is a defense."
CBS News Miami reached out to the State Attorney's Office about the conclusions.
A spokesperson said, "This case is preparing for trial, so the only appropriate response to any issue raised by the defense attorney handling this case is best made to the court on the record."
The state's psychological evaluation recommended that Bland still take medication for depression and possibly Post Traumatic Stress Disorder.
Bland's trial is set to begin on June 22.