What to Know
- Panna Krom was 17 when she drowned her baby girl in a toilet in 2006
- She said she killed her child because she was afraid of her family's reaction
- Krom now says she plans on helping other young women who are in need of help during their pregnancies
A Connecticut woman who drowned her newborn daughter in a toilet in 2006 will be released from prison on Sept. 30, eight years early, after the state's parole board granted clemency on Wednesday.
Panna Krom, who is now 26 years old, went before the parole board at the York women's prison to ask the members to reduce her 18-year prison sentence and her request was granted.
More than two dozen family members were there for the commutation.
"I can't even describe it. I can't even describe it," the Danbury woman's mother, Chan Prum, said. "This is the day I've been waiting for forever. It seems like forever for me just to hear that my daughter is coming home."
Prosecutors said Krom, who was then a 17-year-old senior at Danbury High School, hid her pregnancy, delivered the baby in a bathroom of her parents' home in December 2006, then drowned her in a toilet. Krom's mother found the baby in a closet, officials said.
In 2008, Krom reached a plea deal for an 18-year sentence, pleading guilty to manslaughter to avoid a possible life sentence.
Local
Krom's lawyer, Vicki Hutchinson, said her client was afraid because her parents, who are from Cambodia, disapprove of premarital sex.
Hutchinson said Krom is rehabilitated and she is a model prisoner who earned her high school diploma, mentors younger prisoners and speaks to visiting high school students.
Hutchinson said other people who committed similar crimes received far less prison time.
Krom said she plans on helping other young women who are in need of help during their pregnancies.
