State v. Buckhalter, 2013 Miss. LEXIS 405

Nina Buckhalter was indicted in Lamar County for culpable-negligence manslaughter of Hayley Jade Buckhalter, a stillborn child, under Miss. Code 97-3-47.
Circuit court dismissed the indictment as vague/ambiguous regarding the death of an unborn child; the State appealed.
Indictment did not specify how Nina allegedly caused Hayley Jade’s death; record suggests the State intended to prove illegal drug ingestion during pregnancy, but drug type is unspecified.
Buckhalter moved to dismiss, arguing the word 'other' in the statute does not apply to a pregnant woman and is ambiguous.
The court found the indictment fatally flawed and dismissed it; the majority declined to address the merits of the issues but noted plain-error review would govern due to the fundamental right affected.
The majority criticized the indictment for failing to provide notice as to how Buckhalter 'did willfully, unlawfully, feloniously, kill' an unborn child by culpable negligence.

Issue	Plaintiff's Argument	Defendant's Argument	Held
Is the manslaughter statute vague as applied to a pregnant woman?	State contends statute not vague as applied to unborn death by mother.	Buckhalter argues 'other' does not include a pregnant woman and the term is ambiguous.	Indictment fatally flawed; affirmed dismissal.
May the court consider prior failed legislative attempts to criminalize a mother's conduct?	State contends such consideration is permissible to interpret the statute.	Buckhalter argues such analysis is improper or unnecessary.	Indictment still fatally flawed; affirmed dismissal.

Williams v. State, 161 Miss. 406 (1931) (old culpable-negligence manslaughter statute cited in discussion)
Yazzie v. State, 366 So.2d 240 (Miss. 1979) (unborn child as 'human being' for purposes of statute)