By james art 
BATON ROUGE, La. (BRPRUD) — Whitney Ard’s sentencing has been postponed until Oct. 21. Her lawyer asked for a new trial Thursday morning, but that request was denied by Judge Louise Hines.
Ard’s lawyer felt she did not receive a fair trial.
“The state basically convicted Whitney of second-degree murder using criminal negligence mens rea, which means the intent wasn’t there,” said attorney Sandra Page.
In September, Ard was convicted of second-degree murder in the fentanyl overdose death of her 2-year-old son, Mitchell Robinson.
Robinson was pronounced dead after being brought to the hospital in June 2022. According to the East Baton Rouge Medical Examiner’s Office, Robinson’s death was due to acute fentanyl toxicity.
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Investigators said the boy was taken to the hospital twice before his death in April and June 2022, both times suffering from fentanyl overdoses.
Ard’s family gathered at the courthouse Thursday morning, saying the amount of negative media attention the case has received tainted the jury. They also said Robinson could have been saved if paramedics, case workers and the Louisiana Department of Children and Family Services had notified the family of the fentanyl overdose.
“Regarding the suspected overdose, because no family members have been notified since April 12 of any other subsequent hospitalizations, so that’s why our family is disappointed, we’re filled with grief,” said Ard’s brother, Adrian Ard.
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Ard’s lawyers argued during the trial in September that she was not negligent in her son’s death, but that if a crime was committed, she should only serve a few years in prison.
“At the end of the day, this baby ingested fentanyl, so who’s responsible for that?” reporter John Rupolo asked.
“Who is responsible for this? I mean, honestly, I can’t say,” Page said.
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