2000: BABE-IN-WOODS MUM APPEALS AGAINST SENTENCE
A MOTHER who left her three-year-old daughter alone in woodland is set to appeal against her sentence at the High Court in London.Law lords must now decide if Michelle Jones, formerly of Lewis Avenue, Dallam, who dumped her daughter Charlotte at Gypsy Wood, deserves an earlier release date.
The appeal is now expected to be heard at the High Court either later this month or February, it has been confirmed.
Charlotte was left alone for more than 30 hours at Collins Green wood and it is believed she would almost certainly have died if detectives had not found her.
Jones was jailed for five years at Warrington Crown Court in May last year after admitting a child cruelty charge.
Minutes after that decision was announced, her solicitor John Law spoke of the prospect of an appeal, expressing concern for her welfare in prison.
Defence barrister Michael Davies at the sentencing hearing argued that Jones, who had a history of psychiatric difficulties, deserved treatment rather than punishment.
Today Jones will have served just under eight months of her sentence.
She would be expected to remain in prison for two-thirds of her five-year term as a long-term prisoner.
