Wisconsin Man Jailed Under Unborn Victims Law for Killing Mother, Baby
by Paul Nowak
LifeNews.com Editor
June 16, 2004
Madison, WI (LifeNews.com) — A Wisconsin man has been sentenced to life in prison for a double homicide of his pregnant girlfriend and her unborn child, under Wisconsin’s unborn victims law.
Quenton Quortez Thompson, who had persistently argued he was innocent, was convicted in May on charges that he killed Nicole Blake, who was eight months pregnant. Key testimony came from Blake’s four-year-old son who was left alive in the room.
After Milwaukee County Circuit Judge Jean DiMotto handed down the sentence Thursday and told Thomson, “There is ice flowing in your veins, not blood,” Thomson laughed at her.
"The two crimes that you committed are not only the worst that I have seen in my career, but they’re the worst that I can imagine," DiMotto said.
Blake’s family and friends had asked DiMotto to impose a life sentence in Thomson’s case, to which DiMotto agreed.
Pro-life advocates credit having an unborn victims law with obtaining justice in the death of Nicole’s baby.
"The reason Quenton Thompson was charged and sentenced for the killing of two separate individuals in this case is because of Wisconsin’s Fetal Homicide Law enacted in 1998," said Susan Armacost, Legislative Director of Wisconsin Right to Life. "Prior to 1998, families who lost unborn children under similar tragic circumstances were left to grieve without any legal recourse because Wisconsin law did not recognize unborn children as victims of crime.
“Yesterday, the horrible deaths of both Nicole Blake and her precious unborn son were legally recognized in law and the sentencing of the perpetrator reflected the fact that two individuals had been brutally murdered. We hope and pray this brings at least some measure of solace to Nicole’s family,” added Armacost.
The Fetal Homicide measure was signed into law by Governor Tommy Thompson in 1998, and makes it a separate crime to injure or kill an unborn child during a crime against the mother, protecting the unborn child throughout the entire nine months of pregnancy.
President Bush signed a federal Unborn Victims of Violence Law in March, despite opposition from abortion advocates. Presidential candidate John Kerry opposes such laws, that provide justice for mothers and their children.
According to the National Right to Life Committee, 30 states have unborn victims laws, most recently Kentucky and Virginia, and 18 cover mothers and their unborn children throughout pregnancy. None of those laws has ever been successfully challenged in Court.
