Mom convicted of injuring, blinding her son sentenced to probation

An El Paso jury on Friday handed down the punishment to a mother convicted of shaking her then-8-month-old baby to the point of blindness and paralysis more than three years ago.

Annamarie Johnson, 24, was sentenced to 10 years probation and a $10,000 fine.

“We feel justice was done,” said defense attorney Manuel Parra.

Johnson received probation because she had no prior felonies on her record.

“It’s very sad circumstances, everybody can agree to that,” Parra said. “But one thing that I think nobody can deny is that this was a very difficult case, not just in terms of complexity but in terms of the nature of the charge.”

Judge Anna Perez will decide Monday whether Johnson will serve 180 days in jail. Prosecutors also requested that Johnson require supervision when seeing her younger son, R.J. She would not be allowed to see Jake at all for the next 10 years.

“This was a very tough case,” said prosecutor Holly Rodriguez. “There was no confession, a lot of circumstantial evidence and doctor’s testimony that was very crucial to this case. So we’re very happy that the jury reached the guilty verdict that they did.”

The injured boy, Jake, is now 4 and attends school for deaf and blind students in Idaho, where he lives with his father.