MAHONING COURT Woman gets early jail release

Her daughter objected to her being set free.
By BOB JACKSON
VINDICATOR COURTHOUSE REPORTER
YOUNGSTOWN -- Over the objections of her family, Mary Ann Barnett was granted early release from prison, where she was serving time for causing her infant grandson's death.
Barnett said she will suffer every day knowing that she's to blame for the baby's death. Her daughter and other relatives in the courtroom became upset and groaned loudly as Barnett spoke Monday in Mahoning County Common Pleas Court.
"My daughter no longer speaks to me, but I can't change that," the 47-year-old grandmother told Judge James C. Evans. "I do have to live with the fact that my grandson died as a result of something I did."
An accidental death
Barnett was watching her 15-month-old grandson, Justin W. Hoschar, in December 2001 when the boy found some of her OxyContin pills and ingested between nine and 13 of them. He died after being in a coma for three days.
In July 2003, Barnett pleaded guilty to involuntary manslaughter and two counts of drug possession, for which she was sentenced in September 2003 to four years in prison.
Defense attorney Anthony P. Meranto filed a request for judicial release March 18, 2004, but the judge denied it without holding a hearing. Meranto filed a second request June 4, which led to Monday's hearing.
Meranto said no one has suffered more than Barnett over Justin's death, which didn't sit well with the judge.
"I would disagree with that," Judge Evans said. "The [baby's] parents have certainly suffered more."
Justin's parents and other relatives were in the courtroom for the hearing, but under the law were not permitted to speak. Most of them wore T-shirts with Justin's picture on the front.
Assistant Prosecutor Jay Macejko said the baby's mother, Nicole Barnett, was strongly opposed to the early release. Nicole Barnett is Mary Ann Barnett's daughter.
As part of the agreement made when Barnett pleaded guilty, the prosecutor's office did not take a position on her request for early release.
Fighting addiction
At her sentencing last year, Mary Ann Barnett said she was prescribed OxyContin for a shoulder injury earlier that year. She became addicted to the powerful painkillers and eventually started buying them illegally on the street.
She kept the pills hidden in a small, plastic box on a shelf in her Julian Street house. Another of her grandchildren got the box off the shelf and opened it, and Justin ingested the pills. The death was ruled accidental.
Judge Evans said part of Barnett's five-year probation will be that she submit to random testing for drug and alcohol use. If she tests positive for either, she'll be sent back to prison.
"The monkey is going to be put on your back to prove that you can live a civil life and get rid of this addiction problem," the judge said.
bjackson@vindy.com