Brief
Nevada woman wins $1.6 million settlement after wrongful manslaughter conviction
The settlement follows the vacating of her conviction and raises questions about Nevada's 1911 law used to charge her.
By Felo News Desk · Published
Patience Rousseau, a 26‑year‑old mother from Winnemucca, Nevada, was awarded a $1.6 million settlement from Humboldt County after a Nevada court vacated her 2018 manslaughter conviction linked to a miscarriage, Independent.co.uk reported.
Rousseau miscarried in April 2018. A month later, officers from the Humboldt County Sheriff’s Office visited her home to question her. One deputy, later identified as having personal animosity toward Rousseau, allegedly took the fetus’s ashes home and later moved to Texas with them. The deputy was ordered to return the remains as part of the settlement.
Rousseau was charged under a 1911 Nevada law that predates women’s suffrage, a statute that allowed prosecutors to treat a miscarriage as manslaughter. After two years in jail, her conviction was vacated on July 8, 2021, when her attorney successfully appealed.
Rousseau’s attorneys wrote to the county in March, accusing officials of violating state law and her constitutional rights, and of causing emotional distress. The $1.6 million settlement was finalized in August 2024, and Rousseau recently received the payment.
In an interview, Rousseau said, “I went through so much and so did my children, who are still facing these issues. It’s not fair,” as quoted by the Independent. Civil‑rights lawyer Paola Armeni explained that the 1911 law was on the books before women could vote in Nevada.
Rousseau discovered she was pregnant in February 2018 and planned an abortion at a Reno clinic, but her car broke down. She then searched online for natural methods, attempting to lift heavy objects and ingest large quantities of cinnamon, though medical experts later testified that cinnamon has no abortifacient effect.
Key facts
- Patience Rousseau received a $1.6 million settlement from Humboldt County. (independent.co.uk)
- She was convicted under a 1911 Nevada law that treated miscarriage as manslaughter. (independent.co.uk)
- Her conviction was vacated on July 8, 2021 after two years in jail. (independent.co.uk)
- The deputy who handled the case allegedly took the fetus’s ashes to Texas and was ordered to return them. (independent.co.uk)
- Rousseau attempted self‑induced abortion using heavy lifting and cinnamon, which experts said is ineffective. (independent.co.uk)
Sources
- [1] independent.co.uk — originally reported as “Nevada mom convicted of manslaughter for miscarriage awarded $1. 6m in settlement”
