By Natalie Neysa Alund
The Bradenton Herald
Copyright 2008 The Bradenton Herald
BRADENTON, Fla. — An appellate court ruled Friday that two Bradenton women convicted of illegally practicing as midwives will get a new trial.
In June 2006, a judge sentenced Linda McGlade, 56, and her daughter-in-law, Tanya McGlade, 28, to two and a half years in prison after a jury found them guilty of the felony charge. The women helped a relative, Mara McGlade, 25, deliver a baby boy at home in December 2004. Mara McGlade died two days after the delivery.
But on Friday the Second District Court of Appeal reversed the women’s convictions and ordered they get a new trial.
The higher court ruled the judge who presided over the trial, Edward Nicholas, improperly instructed jurors on the charge before they began deliberations.
Linda’s husband, Tom McGlade, said the women rejoiced after learning the news Friday.
“After the screaming subsided,” he said laughing. “It’s wonderful and they’re doing great.”
Added Linda McGlade, “We were thrilled . . . elated. It’s not over yet, but the tables have turned.”
According to the four-page ruling written by Chief Judge Stevan Northcutt, there is no standard instruction for the crime of midwifery. Under the law, there are three components to midwifery: supervising labor and childbirth; advising as to the progress of the childbirth; and rendering prenatal and postpartal care.
Nicholas may have misled jurors to believe they could use only one of the three elements of the law to determine if the McGlades were guilty, according to the ruling.
Defendants are entitled to have the jury correctly instructed on the essential and material elements of the crime they are charged with, the opinion states.
“A judge cannot arbitrarily change the law to get a conviction and I will never understand why he did that,” Linda McGlade said.
The McGlades’ appellate attorney, Colleen Glenn, said she was not surprised by the ruling.
“Not . . . one bit, and I’m extremely happy for the both of them,” Glenn said.
Assistant State Attorney Ed Brodsky, who prosecuted the case with former assistant state Attorney Patricia Fradley, expressed disappointment with the ruling.
During the next few weeks, prosecutors will review the higher court’s opinion and decide the next course of action, he said.
Possibilities including appealing the higher court’s decision or accepting it and moving for a new trial.
When prosecutors took the midwifery charge to court it was the first time in the history of Florida.
During the trial, a medical examiner reported that Mara McGlade died of uncontrolled bleeding caused by a pre-existing condition.
Prosecutors said the women performed acts that only a licensed midwife is allowed to do and waited hours after the difficult birth to call for an ambulance.
But Glenn said her clients are innocent.
“If the state attorney feels it’s appropriate to retry the case, we’re ready to go back to trial. These women are not guilty,” Glenn said.
After serving about three months of their sentences, the McGlades were released in November 2006 after the appeals court allowed them to post bond while their appeal was considered.
On Friday evening, the women and their family spent time at Ci-Ci’s on Cortez Road celebrating their victory.
“Not being in prison, being able to be with our family and go through a healing process -- we’ve been rejoicing in that,” Linda McGlade said. “We thank God we’ve been able to be home. There hasn’t been this pending looming feeling.
“And I just thank God for that grace.”