Florida AG calls for impeachment after judge acquits mother who killed baby and blamed COVID

Precious Bland of Miami drowned her 15-month-old daughter Emii in a bathtub on Aug. 23, 2021, then proceeded to stab her husband — who attempted to save the infant — in the head and neck. When her stepdaughter tried to grab the drowned toddler, Bland slashed her, then proceeded to cut her own wrists.

According to a police report reviewed by CourtTV, Bland's husband told police that the killer had been ranting about how "COVID is going to kill us all," how Christ's return was imminent, and how she wanted to baptize her family in the bathtub.

'I’m sure that my family is very vigilant now.'

Bland, who subsequently spent four years in jail and additional time on house arrest while awaiting trial, was initially charged with murder, two counts of attempted second-degree murder, and two counts of aggravated child abuse.

On Tuesday, Miami-Dade Judge Miguel Manuel de la O of the 11th Judicial Circuit of Florida found the 43-year-old mother — who admitted to killing her child — not guilty of aggravated manslaughter and first-degree attempted murder by reason of insanity.

This ruling prompted swift backlash from Florida Attorney General James Uthmeier (R), who said that de la O's impeachment is in order.

"This was a bench trial. It's time to impeach this judge," Uthmeier stated on Thursday. "My office will be drafting articles of impeachment, and we look forward to working with all legislators who will support."

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Uthmeier added on X, "It's time to start impeaching judges in this country."

In response to Uthmeier's call to action, Republican Gov. Ron DeSantis tweeted, "Time for the Florida House to do its duty."

The Florida House can impeach a circuit court judge for a "misdemeanor in office" by a two-thirds vote. The Florida Constitution states that an impeached judge "shall be disqualified from performing any official duties until acquitted by the Senate, and, unless impeached, the governor may by appointment fill the office until completion of the trial."

A spokeswoman for the 11th Judicial Circuit of Florida told Blaze News that "judicial ethics canons do not permit comment on pending cases."

During the murder trial, state prosecutors suggested on the basis of remarks Bland allegedly made to investigators that the mother of six killed her baby partly because she believed her husband, Evan Bland, was cheating on her.

Prosecutor Elizabeth Utset further argued that the killer's insanity claim was bogus — Bland had, after all, allegedly told investigators that she had never heard voices prior to the day of the killing — and that even if genuinely mentally troubled, Bland knew full well what she was doing when she drowned her baby, reported WFOR-TV.

"It's odd behavior, Judge, it is, but it's not legal insanity," said Utset. "The voices and the COVID psychosis are a fabrication and an embellished story."

Judge de la O evidently couldn't bring himself to believe that the defendant used insanity as a cover for a horrible and intentional crime, stating, "That theory doesn't make sense to me that she decided to do all of the things that she did: going to all the neighbors, calling her family members, putting the kids in the water, all of it because she was angry due to some perceived infidelity."

The defense argued that Bland killed her baby due to a psychotic episode induced by a COVID infection. Utset claimed, however, that there was "no clear and convincing evidence that COVID made this defendant drown her 1-year-old daughter."

De la O bought the COVID defense, however, stating, "There is zero credible explanation other than her psychotic state."

"There's so much we don't know about COVID," said Bland's attorney, Larry Handfield. "And this was the first case in the country to go to trial on COVID being the defense to murder."

While his client was apparently crazy enough to drown her baby and stab her family members, Handfield doesn't think her crazy enough to warrant institutionalization.

Handfield said on Monday that he is not looking to put Bland in a mental health facility, citing determinations from a pair of psychological evaluators that such treatment would be unnecessary, reported WFOR. Judge de la O similarly suggested that he didn't see any need to institutionalize the killer.

After her acquittal, the baby-killer stated, "God is good. This doesn't bring back my daughter."

"I'm thankful," continued Bland. "I love my children."

When asked about whether she trusts herself around her remaining children, Bland told WPLG-TV, "Absolutely, without a doubt, and I’m sure that my family is very vigilant now as well."

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