Couple convicted of abuse in tot's death

However, after listening to more than three weeks of testimony, much of it from doctors, the jury did not find that Penny and Randall West "knowingly and intentionally" caused Emily Mays' death, as prosecutors alleged.

The jurors convicted Penny West of child abuse under circumstances likely to cause death, but they found that she acted with criminal negligence. The jurors convicted Randall West of child abuse under circumstances not likely to cause death and that he committed the abuse in a reckless manner.

The Wests are both eligible for probation. The maximum prison sentence for Penny West is 3.75 years. The maximum Randall West could receive is 2.5 years in prison. Judge John Leonardo is scheduled to sentence them Sept. 15.

Deputy Pima County Attorney Susan Eazer said the jury apparently believes Randall West caused Emily's brain injury, but he did not realize the injury could result in her death. The jury apparently believed Penny West knew about Emily's injury, but didn't seek help for her despite knowing she could die, Eazer said.

Defense attorneys Howard Wine and Steve Sherick, however, said they have no idea what the jury was thinking.

"I don't think you can make sense of the verdict," Wine said. "It doesn't appear the verdict connects in any way with what the prosecutors say happened."

The defense attorneys said they intend to ask Leonardo to throw out the jury's verdicts, and that if he doesn't, they will ask for a new trial.

"Both defendants are innocent," Wine said.

Most of those in the standing-room-only crowd were supporters of the Wests. Many cried in elation after the "not guilty" verdicts were read, but then turned stone silent when the "guilty" verdicts came down.

Randall West mouthed the words "thank you" to the jurors after the first "not guilty" verdict, then shook his head the rest of the proceeding.

Had the Wests been convicted of "knowingly and intentionally" causing Emily's death, they would have faced between 17 and 27 years in prison.

Emily and two of her sisters came to live with the Wests about a month before Emily's death because the youngest sister tested positive for drugs at her birth.

Emily was taken to St. Joseph's Hospital on the morning of Aug. 24, 2005, after Penny West dialed 911 and reported the child was unresponsive after a fall, according to court testimony.

The child underwent surgery at Tucson Medical Center, but she was taken off life-support several hours later and died. A pathologist determined Emily died as a result of blunt-force trauma.

Autopsy reports indicate Emily suffered a massive subdural hematoma, when blood collects underneath the protective lining of the brain. Her brain swelled so much that it shifted to one side. She also had retinal hemorrhages.

Penny West told doctors and police that Emily bent forward, stood up and then collapsed backward, hitting her head, shortly after she'd walked the baby down a flight of stairs.

Over the course of the trial, about a dozen doctors gave their opinions about the cause of Emily's death.

Doctors for the state testified Emily had to have been struck in the head or severely shaken. Doctors hired by the defense testified Emily's injuries could have been caused by a short fall or a series of short falls. Some also testified she may have suffered from a pre-existing medical condition that made her more susceptible to brain bleeds.

During closing arguments, Eazer also focused on inconsistent statements she said Penny West made to police.

At first, Penny West told detectives the baby was feeling fine the night before she died and was put to bed at her normal time of 7:30 p.m.

Later, after it was clear Emily was going to die, detectives asked Penny West if Randall West had been left alone with the baby when she left for a parent-teacher conference at around 6 p.m.

At that point, Penny West said she'd put the baby to bed before she left for the conference because the baby had been feeling ill.

Emily's mother, Katherine Mays, has filed a wrongful-death lawsuit against the state and the Wests.

The suit alleges that the state didn't adequately evaluate the baby's needs, placed the children in a home that was filled beyond capacity, didn't monitor the home or case managers well enough and didn't investigate allegations of abuse by Penny West. It also alleges that the state didn't properly notify the baby's family about her injuries, hospitalization and critical condition.

At the time of her death, Emily was one of four foster children living in the Wests' Southeast Side home with the Wests and their three biological children.

Mays, 31, was sentenced to five years in prison March 2007 after pleading guilty to two drug charges.