LOUISVILLE, KY. (WDRB) -- A mother convicted of killing her son by leaving him in a hot car while high on drugs has been sentenced to 35 years in prison.
Judge Olu Stevens said when Mollie Shouse took the stand during trial, she only showed remorse for herself, not for her son and what she did to him.
In August, a jury found Shouse guilty of murder and drug charges in the May 2011 death of her 2-year-old son, Kenton Brown. Shouse took the stand in her defense, saying the day her son died was the worst day of her life.
Shouse's attorney asked for the judge to consider a 20-year sentence, rather than what the jury had recommended, 35 years total for all charges.
Prosecutors argued Shouse was high on marijuana and Xanax last summer when she left her son in a car for several hours and passed out in her Lyndon apartment. The child was found hours later in his car seat. Neighbors tried to revive him but couldn't.
Shouse's mother testified, reading a statement asking the judge for leniency. But prosecutor Erin McKenzie fired back, saying there was no one there in court to give a statement for Kenton, referring to, "The little boy that sat in his car seat and suffered hours upon hours."
Judge Stevens agreed, saying Shouse chose drugs over the life of her child, and sentenced her to what the jury recommended -- 35 years in prison. He said the time she owes to the Commonwealth is nothing compared to the burden she'll carry the rest of her life.
Prosecutor Erin McKenzie has been very passionate about this case, and Wednesday in court, as Mollie Shouse was taken away, she stared her down very hard.
WDRB's Rachel Collier asked her about why she did that, and she said it was something she had to see for herself, to give herself peace over this case.
Shouse will be eligible for parole in 20 years. Shouse's attorney says they will appeal the sentence.
Prosecutors believe this is the first murder conviction in Jefferson County related to the death of a child in a hot car.
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