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Nebraska Prosecutors Drop South Dakota Midwife’s Case

BROKEN BOW, Neb. (AP) — Nebraska prosecutors have dropped their case involving an unlicensed midwife who was charged with manslaughter and other crimes in the 2011 death of a newborn.

Sixty-eight-year-old Judy Jones, of Irene, South Dakota, also was charged with practicing without a license and criminal impersonation. Authorities say Jones helped deliver a baby in a rural Custer County home in September 2011, defying orders prohibiting her from practicing as a midwife in Nebraska and South Dakota. The infant died shortly after birth.

After several delays, Jones was scheduled to go on trial beginning April 19 next year. Custer County Attorney Steven Bowers says the case was dropped because the parties involved didn’t want to proceed. But Bowers also says the state could refile charges later if the parties were to change their minds.