A New York jury Wednesday found former pharmaceuticals executive Gigi Jordan guilty of first-degree manslaughter for feeding a lethal drug concoction to her autistic 8-year-old son. The jury accepted her claim that she acted in a state of "extreme emotional disturbance." Jordan faces a 5- to 25-year prison sentence. "Gigi Jordan showed no mercy to her son, and should receive none at the time of her sentencing," Manhattan District Attorney Cyrus Vance Jr. said in a statement. Jordan, 53, displayed little emotion as the verdict was announced at the close of a sensational two-month trial in Manhattan, in which prosecutors described in chilling detail how the businesswoman, who made a fortune in pharmaceuticals, forced little Jude Mirra to swallow a cocktail of painkillers and anti-inflammatories in 2010. Prosecutors said Jordan, who testified that she killed the boy to prevent him from being sexually abused, forced many of the drugs down his throat with a syringe.
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Defense lawyers, citing legal errors, say they will appeal and seek a new trial
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Gigi Jordan is found guilty of manslaughter for feeding drugs to her autistic 8-year-old son
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Jude Mirra, 8, died from painkillers, other drugs, prosecutors say
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The defense says the desperate mother aimed to protect her son from a sexually abusive father
At her trial, which started on September 10, no one disputed the unthinkable manner in which @placeholder spent his final hours on February 5, 2010.