KANSAS CITY, Kan. — A Wyandotte County judge Friday morning sentenced a 24-year-old mother to nearly 10 years in prison for trying to drown her two young daughters. Johnna Green’s lawyer called it the best possible outcome for a woman who suffers from mental illness.
Green pleaded guilty to two counts of attempted second degree murder for holding her kids underwater in a bathtub until they lost consciousness. The incident happened April 2, 2013 in Green’s Kansas City, Kan., home. Green called 911 and told a dispatcher she had just killed her daughters, ages four and one.
In court, Green told Wyandotte County Judge Mike Grosko that she was ready to move forward in her life. She also expressed gratitude and thanked first responders for saving her daughters’ lives. Green’s lawyer, Paul Morrison, says both girls have made miraculous recoveries.
According to Morrison, Green has been diagnosed with schizophrenia and he claims had she been treated for her mental illness, none of this would have happened.
“In this case you have a mom who was schizophrenic, had the onset of schizophrenia literally weeks before this crime occurred,” Morrison said. “She’s delusional and in the twisted, contorted way of thinking, she thought she was doing her kids a favor.”
Under the terms of an agreement with the district attorney, the judge sentenced Green to nine years and 10 months behind bars.
Now that Green is being treated with medication, Morrison says she feels just horrible about what she did and hopes that someday she’ll be able to see her girls again. Both children have been living with a relative, but Morrison says a permanent custody decision, as to who will raise them, has not yet been made.
Green’s relatives declined to speak with reporters following the sentencing.
