Gosnell to get life in prison without parole

AP reports, Dr. Kermit Gosnell, in exchange for waiving appeals, will be sentenced to two life sentences without parole. The agreement was reached with prosecutors, in part due to Gosnell’s age – at 72, it is unlikely that he would survive to complete the appeals process, and would likely die of natural causes in prison, not lethal injection.

Gosnell’s trial was largely ignored by the mainstream media, until near the end, after constant pressure from conservative media sources. In spite of this, the doctor’s attorney, Jack McMahon, contends that his client only meant to help desperate women seeking late-term abortions, and that the intense media attention may not have helped the situation. His client was found guilty on three counts of first degree murder – the victims were live-born babies that survived Gosnell’s attempts to abort them, and were subsequently killed by “snipping” their spinal cords. He was also found guilty of manslaughter, involving the 2009 death of 41-year-old Karnamaya Mongar of Woodbridge, Va., due to drug overdose.

Testimonies of individuals that had been clients of Gosnell have been featured in the documentary 3801 Lancaster, which was promoted heavily by conservatives in social media, when they were attempting to draw mainstream media attention to the case.