A judge in Florida has rejected the application for a changed sentence from a woman who kidnapped a baby and raised her as her own despite that the victim, now 23 years old, has spoken in support of her.
In 2018, Gloria Williams accepted a plea deal for taking Kamiyah Mobley from her mother at the UF Health Jacksonville maternity ward in 1998. In December, Williams asked a judge to serve half her 18-year sentence on probation because of good behaviour and personal development.
Williams wrote a letter to Duval County Circuit judge Marianne Aho saying that she takes responsibility for the abduction but that she has grown as a person during her four years in prison, according to the Atlanta Black Star.
“There are many things I have learned since coming to the Department of Corrections, but the overall lesson of my incarceration has been one of accountability”, Williams wrote. “I know and understand now that there is a ripple effect, that the consequences of my actions are never mine to suffer alone.”
Judge Aho ruled that the motion was filed too late but also said that she “did not find a basis to undo the original sentencing judges’ decision”.
Williams pretended to be a nurse to take Ms Mobley from her mother just five hours after her birth. Williams previously told the court that she “had just suffered a devastating miscarriage and was exhibiting symptoms conducive to postpartum depression, as well as experiencing extreme mental and emotional disturbance”.
She added that she was “not in her right state of mind” when the kidnapping took place.
She changed Ms Mobley’s name to Alexis Manigo and moved to South Carolina, raising her as her own until she was found in 2017. It has been reported that Ms Mobley learned that she had been kidnapped a year and a half before Williams was arrested.
“I would like to make it very clear that she is my mother”, Ms Mobley told Judge Aho in a letter. “She raised me and not only provided for my needs, but she loved me unconditionally.”
“I understand none of this modifies the truth of the past, nor does it justify my mom’s actions in any way,” she added. “However, at the end of the day, I love my mother and I wholeheartedly support her! I ask the court’s grace and mercy, as I need my mother home.”
Williams asked the judge to serve nine years in prison and nine on probation, noting that she has distanced herself from Ms Mobley out of respect for her biological family, The Star reported.
Ms Mobley’s closeness to the woman who kidnapped her has caused issues in the relationship with her biological mother, Shanara Mobley, who once asked Ms Mobley to choose between them, according to the publication.
Social media posts show that they have been trying to rebuild their relationship, First Coast News reported.
“What I see happening is Kamiyah is bringing her biological family to South Carolina to introduce them and to spend time with my mother (her nana), her sisters, nieces and nephews,” Williams said in her motion to change her sentence. “Everyone is coming together to give Kamiyah the best of both worlds and to bring her life into fulfilment.”
