Suspended sentence for woman who delivered insulin overdose to her partner

A woman has been handed a nine-month suspended prison sentence after pleading guilty to administering an insulin overdose to her partner. Laura Hopkin, 33, was arrested in the early hours on 13 August, 2017 after her partner realised she had deliberately tried to give him an overdose of insulin. Hopkin used a remote device to administer the insulin whilst he was in bed. Hopkin's partner, who has type 1 diabetes, uses an insulin pump which holds 100ml of insulin and also has a separate Bluetooth device which is used to deliver insulin. It was this Bluetooth device, which had been left downstairs, which Hopkin used to deliver the overdose of insulin. After going upstairs to bed, her partner saw his pump was administering insulin, which he had not initiated, and quickly realised what was happening. He was able to disconnect the pump and call 999 to seek medical attention to avoid potentially life-threatening complications. The 24.5 units of insulin she delivered could have triggered hypoglycemia and, if untreated, could have resulted in coma and death. The Stoke-on-Trent Crown Court heard the defendant claim her actions took place whilst she was "in a highly emotional state after she had consumed a lot of alcohol" following an argument with her partner. She claimed she was unaware of the consequences of her actions and did not intend to cause serious injury. Although Judge Paul Glenn acknowledge the actions were completely out of character and emotionally driven, he told Hopkin: "What you did was wicked. You were aware of his condition as you had been together for a long time. It is fortunate he was awake and realised what had happened and was able to disconnect the device and call for assistance." The judge also recognised that although courts are not bound to follow the wishes of the victim, her partner did not want Ms Hopkin to go to jail and they should consider his wishes. Hopkin who had no previous convictions was ordered to complete a 30-day rehabilitation activity and 120 hours of unpaid work, alongside her nine-month suspended prison sentence.

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