Oklahoma mother who married her daughter sentenced to prison
Patricia Ann Spann pleaded guilty to incest
An Oklahoma mother has been sentenced to two years in prison for marrying her biological daughter.
Patricia Ann Spann pleaded guilty to the felony offence of incest and admitted marrying her daughter, Misty Velvet Dawn Spann. The two married in March 2016, a little more than 17 months after same-sex marriage became legal in the state.
The married mother and daughter were discovered by the Department of Human Services during a child welfare check-up.
The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.
Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
Police discovered during the investigation that Patricia also married her son in 2008 when he was 18 years old, according to The Oklahoman. A judge annulled that marriage in 2010, at the son's request, on incest grounds.
Misty also had her marriage to her mother annulled in October last year after arguing she had been fraudulently induced into it.
Patricia had said she believed the union was legal, since she was not listed as the biological mother on her daughter's birth certificate. She only came into contact with her daughter two years prior to the marriage.
In addition to her prison term, Patricia was sentenced to eight years on probation. She was also fined £1,070 and ordered to pay £215 to the state victims’ compensation fund as well as £710 in fees. She also must register as a sex offender upon release.
A free daily email with the biggest news stories of the day – and the best features from TheWeek.com
Misty pleaded guilty to incest last November and was given 10 years of probation along with required counselling.
-
Metal-based compounds may be the future of antibioticsUnder the radar Robots can help develop them
-
Europe’s apples are peppered with toxic pesticidesUnder the Radar Campaign groups say existing EU regulations don’t account for risk of ‘cocktail effect’
-
Political cartoons for February 1Cartoons Sunday's political cartoons include Tom Homan's offer, the Fox News filter, and more
-
Israel retrieves final hostage’s body from GazaSpeed Read The 24-year-old police officer was killed during the initial Hamas attack
-
China’s Xi targets top general in growing purgeSpeed Read Zhang Youxia is being investigated over ‘grave violations’ of the law
-
Panama and Canada are negotiating over a crucial copper mineIn the Spotlight Panama is set to make a final decision on the mine this summer
-
Why Greenland’s natural resources are nearly impossible to mineThe Explainer The country’s natural landscape makes the task extremely difficult
-
Iran cuts internet as protests escalateSpeed Reada Government buildings across the country have been set on fire
-
US nabs ‘shadow’ tanker claimed by RussiaSpeed Read The ship was one of two vessels seized by the US military
-
How Bulgaria’s government fell amid mass protestsThe Explainer The country’s prime minister resigned as part of the fallout
-
Femicide: Italy’s newest crimeThe Explainer Landmark law to criminalise murder of a woman as an ‘act of hatred’ or ‘subjugation’ but critics say Italy is still deeply patriarchal