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Aug 20, 2023

New blow for Aussie mum who faces death row in the US

An Adelaide mum, who could be the first Aussie woman on death row in the United

An Adelaide mum, who could be the first Aussie woman on death row in the United States over her step-daughter's death, will have to languish in a cell for longer before learning her fate.

Lisa Marie Cunningham, 48, and co-accused American husband Germayne Cunningham (a former police detective) have been behind bars for five years in Phoenix, Arizona, for the alleged abuse, neglect and murder of seven-year-old Sanaa. They have both denied the charges.

Now, Cunningham's already delayed 2020 court trial has been pushed back another 18 months.

"I’m crying. I’ve some serious health problems because of the conditions of detainment and treatment," the mum-of-four told The Adelaide Advertiser from the maximum security facility.

"(The judge) stated that several cases must go before mine because they are older … and mine going sooner is unfair.

"I’ve not fully processed or accepted the delay," she told the Australian paper.

If convicted, Cunningham could potentially be the first woman to be executed in Arizona since the 1930s, as well as having the unenviable title as the first Australian woman ever executed in the US.

According to the state's Death Penalty Information Centre, lethal injection became Arizona's primary method of execution in November, 1992, replacing the gas chamber.

In 2015, Arizona inmate Debra Milke was ultimately exonerated after spending 22 years on death row accused of killing her son.

Sanaa, who was diagnosed with schizophrenia and other behavioural disorders, died four hours after she was taken to hospital in February 2017.

Prosecutors allege she died from a sepsis infection in Phoenix Children's Hospital from injuries related to the neglectful conditions she lived in, such as being restrained with plastic ties, a makeshift straitjacket and shackles, as well as being locked in a laundry room or outside.

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However the mum-of-four has claimed Sanaa died from pneumonia and medication side effects, The Advertiser reported. She had reportedly been receiving assistance from the Australian Consulate.

Her lawyer, Eric Kessler, told the publication she is "doing reasonably well under the circumstances" and is "very active in her defence and is quite bright".

He previously stated outside of court that the murder charge was "one of the grossest miscarriages of justice," News Corp reportsed.

A pre-trial hearing is listed for March.

with agencies

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