Prosecutors seek constraints in Ind. poison case Associated Press Copyright 2013 Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed. Updated 9:55 am, Friday, March 8, 2013 INDIANAPOLIS (AP) — Prosecutors who charged a mother with murdering her infant because she ate rat poison while pregnant have asked the Indiana judge trying the case to take steps that critics say could stifle any sympathy jurors might have for the woman. Bei Bei Shuai's story has generated a wave of support from advocates who fear that her case could establish an unequal system that would effectively make pregnant women beholden to stricter rules than others under Indiana law. Prosecutors charged her in March 2011 with murder and feticide, saying her suicide note proved she intended to kill herself and her unborn baby. Prosecutors have asked Judge Sheila Carlisle to bar courtroom spectators from wearing buttons expressing opinions about Shuai and to bar defense attorneys from questioning witnesses about their religious beliefs or from asking questions or presenting testimony that could create sympathy for Shuai. Shawn Boyne, a professor at the Indiana University School of Law in Indianapolis and an expert on trial procedure, said that while the type of motion is "relatively routine," its scope is unusual. "Since it is the defendant's right to a fair trial that we are concerned with, I don't understand why the state would be prejudiced by this speech," she said in an email.

 

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