A Massachusetts mother, Latarsha Sanders, sentenced to life in prison for the 2018 murders of her two young sons, will receive a new trial. The state's Supreme Judicial Court vacated her conviction on Thursday, ruling that the judge in her 2022 trial erred by preventing the defense from presenting crucial medical records.
Sanders, 51, was found guilty by a jury of murdering her sons, 8-year-old Edson Brito and 5-year-old La'Son Brito. Prosecutors had argued that she stabbed Edson nearly 80 times and La'Son more than 20 times as part of what she described as a Voodoo ritual. She was sentenced to mandatory life terms without parole.
The Supreme Judicial Court agreed with Sanders's appeal that the exclusion of her post-arrest medical records constituted a "prejudicial error." These records detailed findings from doctors at a state psychiatric hospital, indicating that Sanders suffered from "hallucinations" and "paranoid schizophrenia" that had been "undetected and untreated for decades."
"As a result, the defendant is entitled to a new trial," the court stated in its order. "There is no doubt the defendant committed these incomprehensible crimes. The sole issue before a Superior Court jury was whether she lacked criminal responsibility."
Sanders admitted to the murders in February 2018, and her defense attorney during the initial trial argued she was insane. An insanity defense aims to prove a defendant lacked criminal responsibility due to an inability to understand the consequences or wrongfulness of their actions.
During the new trial, Sanders's defense is expected to again argue for insanity, now bolstered by the inclusion of her mental health diagnoses and medical records. If the defense is successful, Sanders would likely be committed to a state mental hospital for treatment rather than return to prison.
Plymouth Superior Court Judge William Sullivan presided over Sanders's initial trial and is also currently overseeing the case of Lindsay Clancy, who faces charges in the deaths of her three young children. Clancy, who has pleaded not guilty by reason of insanity, is accused of strangling her children, Cora, 5, Dawson, 3, and 8-month-old Callan, in January 2023. Clancy's defense claims she was suffering from severe postpartum depression and psychosis at the time of the deaths.