A Texas attorney who pleaded guilty to slipping abortion medication into his pregnant wife's drinks was sentenced to 180 days in jail.
Catherine Herring, the estranged wife of Mason Herring, told a Harris County court Wednesday that the sentence was not strict enough. Their now 1-year-old daughter has developmental delays and attends therapy eight times a week, she said.
"I do not believe that 180 days is justice for attempting to kill your child seven separate times," she said, according to The Associated Press.
Mason Herring, 39, is accused of drugging drinks he gave to his wife of 11 years after learning in 2022 that she was pregnant with their third child. A complaint states that at the time, the pair was separated but had agreed to attend couples counseling.
Catherine Herring told police that during a counseling session in March 2022, she told her husband about the pregnancy and he "had a negative reaction and after that evening, he sent her text messages expressing that he was not happy about the pregnancy and did not know what to do," the complaint says.
He allegedly told her that the pregnancy "would ruin his plans and make him look like a jerk." Their counselor suggested that the two spend spring break together, according to the complaint.
Catherine Herring told authorities that her husband began to talk to her about her hydration and how she needed to drink more water, the complaint says. On March 17, 2022, he brought her breakfast and water and said he would not leave until she drank the whole cup, according to the complaint.
Catherine Herring said that she noticed the water looked cloudy but her husband said it was because the cup or pipes were dirty, the complaint states.
After drinking the beverage, she became severely ill and experienced cramping. When she began to bleed, Catherine Herring said she went to the emergency room, according to the complaint.
Suspecting that her husband was trying to poison her, Catherine Herring said she set up cameras around her home. She told police that on six other occasions, he gave her beverages mixed with abortion medication but she did not drink them.
She also gave authorities video that showed Mason Herring mixing a substance into her drink and throwing away trash from his car, according to the complaint. She told authorities that she went through the discarded trash and found packaging for a medication that contained misoprostol, which is used to induce abortion.
Mason Herring, who was a Houston attorney according to the AP, was initially charged with felony assault to induce abortion. He accepted a plea agreement on charges of injury to a child and assault of a pregnant person. In addition to 180 days in jail, a judge ordered him to 10 years of probation and barred him from having contact with his estranged wife and 1-year-old daughter.
His attorney, Dan Cogdell, said the sentence was reasonable.
"It's a sad situation and Mason has accepted his responsibility," Cogdell told the court, the AP reported.
