'I'm not what my crime is': Utah mother who killed son in 2010 seeks parole - East Idaho News
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‘I’m not what my crime is’: Utah mother who killed son in 2010 seeks parole

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SALT LAKE CITY, Utah (KSL.com) — An Ogden woman sentenced to the Utah State Prison in 2011 for smothering her 2-month-old son to death says she is ready to reenter society.

“I hope everything that I’ve put into and I’ve done in prison will help me succeed out there,” Jewell Hendricks told the Utah Board of Pardons and Parole on Tuesday.

On Jan. 24, 2010, Hendricks, the mother of 2-month-old twins, says she became overwhelmed with the challenges of being a new parent.

“I could have reached out to all my friends — and I tried and was rejected,” she told the board in a recording of her first parole hearing. “I had postpartum depression on depression, and I did not mean to take it out on my son. I meant to take it out on myself. I was pretty much lonely. I couldn’t handle a lot of things. I wasn’t all there.”

Hendricks decided to put her 2-month-old son, Robert, in a sleeping bag and smother him. She was convicted of murder in July 2011 and was sentenced to a term of 15 years to life in prison. Her other twin boy was taken into foster care following Robert’s death and has since been adopted.

During sentencing, Hendricks’ attorney, Ryan Bushell, described his client as “25 going on 14.” Prosecutor Dean Saunders told the judge, “We realize she had some mental health issues, but that doesn’t excuse what she did.”

In exchange for Hendricks’ guilty plea, prosecutors agreed to write a letter to the board of pardons asking that Hendricks serve the minimum 15 years in prison. The state sentencing guidelines, which are not binding, suggest Hendricks should be released in 2030.

Hendricks, now 40, says she recognizes she may be in prison for several more years.

“I tell myself, ‘I can do it.’ But then, I’m like, ‘I just want to be released.’ Because I want to get back out there into society and be a member of society and get myself well and have the support that I need to succeed off of parole and to be a better person. Because I tell people I’m not what my crime is. I know what I did was wrong and I take full responsibility. I’m a whole changed person now,” she said.

During Tuesday’s hearing, Hendricks acknowledged she suffers from mental health issues and a learning disability. She said when she first arrived at the Utah State Prison, she had outbursts because of how some people treated her.

“I was just going with the flow and people were being mean to me, and even some officers were being mean to me at the time,” she said.

Since then, she credits life-skills classes at the prison and medication for making her a more stable person. She says rather than worrying about others, she began to focus on herself.

“I leave educated. I’m very normal now because I’m on my psych meds. And when my crime happened I was not on my psych meds. And I could have been, I guess, but they said there could have been side effects. But I can’t bring my son back. It’s going to haunt me the rest of my life,” she said, adding, “I’m just a wreck” without medication.

“All I want is forgiveness and be a better person,” she said in tears. “I tell myself every day, ‘You’re smart. You’re not dumb.'”

Hendricks concluded her 34-minute parole hearing by telling the board she knows she’s a good person and she is hoping for a “good outcome.”

The full five-member board will now vote on whether to grant parole or set a new date for another hearing.

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