Minnesota Board of Pardons cuts woman's prison time short during marathon hearing

In a two-day marathon hearing, the Minnesota Board of Pardons' first act of forgiveness cut short the prison time of a woman who drowned her newborn out of fear the baby's father would kill them both if she didn't go through with the act.

The unanimous vote on Monday means — effective immediately — Samantha Heiges will be released from the women's prison in Shakopee and placed under a supervision plan designed by state correctional officials.

"It's my hope that this process continues to be used to move lives on," Gov. Tim Walz said Monday at the start of the meeting, which will stretch on for two days and cover roughly four dozen cases.

The Minnesota Board of Pardons, which is made up of the governor, attorney general and chief justice of the state Supreme Court, meets twice each year and has the power to effectively clear someone's criminal record if they've shown they've changed their ways.

The board can lessen offenders' prison sentences, such as in Heiges' case, but more often they consider absolving citizens of their crimes after they've served their time and shown demonstrable rehabilitation.

Walz said they received so many applications that members agreed to hold the meeting over the span of two days. Many individuals made heartfelt pleas for forgiveness, often speaking through tears.

Heiges, 35, has already served more than a dozen years of her nearly 25 year sentence, but she asked the board to allow her to serve the rest of her time on supervised release so she can care for her 13-year-old daughter.

The case was initially heard in November, when Heiges expressed remorse for drowning her daughter in the bathtub under the duress of an abusive relationship and threats from her boyfriend at the time.

She was 19 when she had the baby — whom she named Sydney — and testified that she thought drowning her would be more humane than the alternative. Heiges attempted suicide in the days after drowning the baby.

The case was taken on by the University of Minnesota Law School's Clemency Clinic. No one testified against her commutation.

The Department of Corrections said Heiges will serve under supervised release and a family and individual therapist will help with the transition. Her daughter will initially only see Heiges with another adult present.

Appearing virtually, Heiges was quiet for most of the hearing but expressed gratitude to the board for commuting her sentence.

Reporter Stephen Montemayor contributed to this story