Attorney Lynn Paltrow is working on a similar case involving another South Carolina woman, Cornelia Whitner. Hers became a landmark case in South Carolina law in 1997 when the state Supreme Court upheld her conviction for using crack cocaine during her pregnancy. Last week Ms. Paltrow and Ms. Crawley's attorney, C. Rauch Wise of Greenwood, were granted an extension to appeal Ms. Whitner's case to the U.S. Supreme Court. They plan to include Ms. Crawley's case in the appeal. Ms. Paltrow says if the goal is to protect children, as Mr. Condon says, then Ms. Crawley should not go to prison.
Some national experts agree that criminal prosecution has no place in dealing with the problem.
Boston Medical Center pediatrician Deborah Frank, who studies babies exposed to drugs while in the womb, said a child can suffer more by being separated from the mother than by being exposed to crack cocaine before birth. Mr. Condon agrees that sending Ms. Crawley to prison is not an ideal solution. In fact, because she is doing well, he said he considered exempting Ms. Crawley from prison. But other factors forced him to put that notion aside. According to state law, once a sentence is imposed, it cannot be modified, Mr. Condon said.