A woman who spent more than two years behind bars after being convicted of manslaughter over her own miscarriage has won a $1.6 million payout following a years-long legal battle against the Nevada authorities who prosecuted her.
asserted
who → spend → her
Patience Rousseau, 34, was imprisoned under an obscure law dating back to 1911 after prosecutors claimed her use of illegal drugs had caused the death of her unborn baby.
But her conviction was eventually overturned, and the former homeless mother has now secured a $1.6 million settlement from Humboldt County, with approximately $1.2 million going directly to her.
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million → imprison → her
The payout comes after Rousseau endured years of public humiliation, separation from her children and accusations that she was a 'baby killer' following the loss of her son in 2018.
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she → come → 2018
Yet despite the life-changing sum, Rousseau insists no amount of money can undo the devastating damage inflicted on her family.
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amount → change → family
'They fought so much to avoid paying me,' Rousseau told The Nevada Independent.
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Rousseau → fight → Independent
'I went through so much and so did my children, who are still facing these issues.
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who → go → issues
Her ordeal began in February 2018, when Rousseau, then 26 and known as Patience Frazier, discovered she was pregnant while living in the rural Nevada town of Winnemucca.
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she → begin → Winnemucca
Patience Rousseau, 34, has been awarded a $1.6 million settlement after being imprisoned following a miscarriage.
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Rousseau → award → miscarriage
Rousseau was sentenced to up to eight years in prison in 2019
Rousseau spent more than two years behind bars after prosecutors blamed her miscarriage on her drug use
She and her two young sons had recently escaped homelessness by moving into the home of an older man involved in drug dealing.
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She → sentence → dealing
Already struggling with depression and substance abuse, Rousseau was desperate to terminate her unwanted pregnancy but faced a seemingly insurmountable obstacle, The Nevada Independent reported.
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Independent → struggle → obstacle
Her car had broken down, leaving her unable to make the approximately 165-mile journey to Reno for an abortion, Rousseau said.
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Rousseau → break → abortion
Instead, she turned to the internet, searching for ways to end her pregnancy without medical assistance.
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she → turn → assistance
She began consuming large quantities of cinnamon and lifting heavy objects, mistakenly believing the methods could trigger a miscarriage, according to the outlet.
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methods → begin → outlet
Neither method is a scientifically established way to terminate a pregnancy.
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method → establish → pregnancy
Two months later, in April 2018, Rousseau delivered a stillborn baby boy whom she named Abel.
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she → deliver → whom
Overcome with grief, she buried his remains in her backyard and posted a heartbreaking message on Facebook.
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she → bury → Facebook
Rousseau is seen being interrogated by deputies at the Humboldt County Sheriff’s Office in this still from body camera footage from 2018.
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Rousseau → see → 2018
She has now been awarded a $1.6 million settlement
'I'm so sorry Abel.
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I → award → settlement
I'm sorry I'm a horrible person,' she wrote.
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she → write → ?
But rather than receiving support following the traumatic loss, Rousseau found herself at the center of a criminal investigation.
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herself → receive → investigation
Within weeks, she had been arrested and charged with felony manslaughter.
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she → arrest → manslaughter
Prosecutors invoked a little-known Nevada statute enacted in 1911 that criminalizes taking drugs with the intention of terminating a pregnancy after 24 weeks.
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that → invoke → weeks
The law had been on the books for more than a century, yet Rousseau became the only woman known to have been charged under it.
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Rousseau → become → it
Investigators initially focused on her consumption of cinnamon before turning their attention to her use of methamphetamine, marijuana and cigarettes during pregnancy.
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Investigators → focus → pregnancy
They argued that her drug use demonstrated an intention to end the pregnancy, making her responsible for her baby's death.
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her → argue → death
Encouraged by her public defender, Rousseau pleaded guilty and entered prison in 2019, the Independent reported.
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Independent → encourage → 2019
She spent more than two years incarcerated, separated from her young children, before a new attorney successfully challenged the conviction.
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attorney → spend → conviction
Carson City lawyer Laura FitzSimmons argued that prosecutors could not establish whether Rousseau's drug use had caused the miscarriage.
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use → argue → miscarriage
The county medical examiner had been unable to determine the baby's cause of death.
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examiner → determine → death
FitzSimmons also maintained that Rousseau's substance abuse was a pre-existing problem rather than a deliberate attempt to terminate her pregnancy.
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abuse → maintain → pregnancy
The Nevada mother was convicted under an obscure 1911 law that had never previously been used to prosecute a woman
Crucially, Rousseau had not known precisely when she became pregnant, raising further questions about whether she could have known she had passed the 24-week threshold.
In 2021, her conviction was overturned on the grounds that she had received ineffective legal representation, but her nightmare was not immediately over.
Humboldt County authorities considered prosecuting her again, leaving Rousseau facing the possibility of another criminal trial, the Independent reported.
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Independent → convict → trial
It was not until 2025 that the charges were dismissed with prejudice, permanently preventing prosecutors from resurrecting the case.
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charges → dismiss → case
Meanwhile, another disturbing controversy emerged concerning the remains of her baby.
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controversy → emerge → baby
According to a 2024 Washington Post investigation, the infant's ashes had come into the possession of deputy sheriff Jacqueline Mitcham, one of the officers involved in Rousseau's arrest.
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ashes → accord → arrest
Mitcham allegedly took the ashes with her when she relocated to Texas.
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she → take → Texas
Rousseau learned what had happened through the newspaper's reporting.
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what → learn → reporting
Her lawyers alleged that Mitcham harbored personal resentment toward Rousseau, partly because of her strongly held anti-abortion views.
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Mitcham → allege → views
As part of the settlement agreement, Abel's ashes were finally returned to his mother.
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ashes → return → mother
'That meant everything to me,' Rousseau said to The Independent.
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Rousseau → mean → Independent
Civil rights attorney Paola Armeni, who represented Rousseau in her settlement claim, described the treatment she endured as deeply traumatic.
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she → represent → treatment
…and 17 more, not listed.
The Aporia
