Mother Whose Infant Died After Drinking Cow’s Milk During Hurricane Katrina Denied Parole
Tiffany Woods, the Louisiana mother whose infant son Emmanuel died in the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina after consuming organic cow’s milk, will not be granted early release from prison. According to NOLA.com, the Louisiana State Parole Board voted on Feb. 10 to deny Woods’ request for parole.
Woods was convicted of second-degree murder in 2008 in connection with her son’s death in Shreveport and originally received an automatic life sentence. In 2023, former Gov. John Bel Edwards commuted her sentence to 36 years following a recommendation from the state pardon board, making the 46-year-old eligible for release after serving half that time. Despite two of the three parole board members supporting her release and citing her progress while incarcerated, the final decision did not fall in her favor.
On Tuesday, Board member Carolyn Stapleton said she could not support Woods’ release after hearing opposition from Caddo Parish District Attorney James Stewart and reviewing photos of the infant.
“You’ve done remarkable, wonderful things. But because of the condition of the child and the circumstances that the DA’s office described, I am not going to be able to grant you parole today,” said Stapleton.
According to NOLA.com, the devastating decision was hammered down after Woods appeared via video from the Louisiana Correctional Institute for Women in St. Gabriel, weeping as she described her son’s death and pleaded for another chance at freedom.
What led to Baby Emmanuel’s death?
The parole board’s emotional decision comes nearly three years after the Louisiana pardon board unanimously recommended Woods’ release. On Aug. 21, 2023, the board voted to support freeing Woods, who had already served nearly 17 years for feeding her infant son cow’s milk during Hurricane Katrina — the devastating 2005 storm that caused catastrophic flooding and widespread displacement across Louisiana.
Woods was up against the unthinkable before Hurricane Katrina hit. She had given birth to Emmanuel prematurely in June 2005, just months before Katrina made landfall. When warnings about the approaching hurricane spread in August, Woods, then 25, relocated to Caddo Parish in northwest Louisiana with her newborn and the child’s father, Emmanuel Scott, seeking safety from the storm.
According to People, Emmanuel weighed just over 3 pounds at birth and had been diagnosed with a genetic condition. Woods has said she was not informed of the severity of his health issues before being discharged from the hospital. During her 2023 parole hearing, Woods — now a mother of three — acknowledged making serious mistakes regarding her son’s nutrition amid depression, fear, and the chaos following the storm.
After Hurricane Katrina struck Louisiana as a Category 5 storm on Aug. 29, 2005, Emmanuel reportedly struggled to keep his formula down.
“The formula he was taking, he wasn’t swallowing. He was always throwing it up, and then we ran out of WIC (food) vouchers, so I decided to switch it,” the mother told the parole board in 2023, People noted. “I switched it to organic milk. I thought he was doing better, but he wasn’t thriving.”
Woods said she also lacked family support at the time, telling the board, “My family wasn’t around me. I didn’t know whether they was alive or not. And I made poor choices and my son lost his life because of me.”
According to the Centers for Disease Control & Prevention, feeding an infant cow’s milk before they are 12 months old can put a child at risk for intestinal bleeding. Cow’s milk also has too many proteins and minerals for a baby’s kidneys to break down and does not provide the right amount of nutrients for a growing baby.
Tiffany Woods faced opposition from state prosecutors during her 2023 hearing.
Sadly, Emmanuel died in November 2005 from malnutrition. The following year, Tiffany Woods and Scott were both charged with second-degree murder and sentenced to life in prison.
At the time, Woods faced significant opposition. State prosecutor Suzanne Ellis urged the board to deny parole during the 2023 hearing, presenting the board with pre-autopsy photographs of the infant that showed Emmanuel’s malnourished state.
“This baby was the most pitiful thing I have seen in 26 years. Please do not give her an opportunity at release. Do not give her an opportunity to harm another child, because I am convinced that if she can, she will,” Ellis warned.
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