By james art 
A Baton Rouge mother was sentenced to life in prison after her two-year-old son died of a fentanyl overdose in 2022. Following the overdose death of her son, Mitchell Robinson III, following multiple previous overdoses, Whitney Ard, 31, was convicted of second-degree murder and sentenced to life imprisonment. East Baton Rouge District Attorney Hilary Moore argued that the circumstances — particularly the presence of a significant amount of fentanyl in the home — demonstrated a pattern of negligence that spilled over into criminal behavior.
“Whether it’s intentional or not, it’s criminally negligent to allow a child to overdose when you’ve brought the most powerful drug into your house and you’ve allowed a child to have access,” Moore said.
Mitchell was hospitalized two more times after overdosing on opioids containing fentanyl before finally dying from the drugs. The Department of Children and Family Services was notified, but the state agency did not act quickly enough to remove the child from the home.
“The jury did not find that DCFS did anything wrong in this matter. I know those were the charges. They found that this woman who was responsible for her child was responsible for his death. Moore said.
In November 2022, DCFS Secretary at the time, Marketa Garner Walters, resigned.
This case serves as a stark reminder of the urgent need for effective measures to protect vulnerable children and address the broader opioid epidemic. Moore says Ard will likely appeal.
“I thought the judge did a very good job of making the case for why he thought life in prison was the appropriate sentence, which it is,” Moore said.