The state Superior Court says a judge was justified in sentencing a western Pennsylvania woman to far more time in prison for starving her infant son than the baby's father received.
The Herald of Sharon, Pa. says a Mercer County judge was justified last year when he sentenced 24-year-old Royanne Darr to 21 1/2 to 43 years in prison for the death of her 2-month-old son who was malnourished and left outside in near-freezing temperatures in January 2010.
Darr, of Greenville, pleaded guilty to third-degree murder and was found to be playing Scrabble when she forgot about her son.
The judge sentenced the baby's father 25-year-old Michael Rabold, to 7 1/2 to 15 years in prison for his no contest plea because he functioned at a fourth grade level and didn't have the mental capacity to care for the boy.