Judge reduces term in abandoned newborn case

(Tulsa-AP) -- A Tulsa judge has reduced the sentence given a woman who gave birth in a Tulsa Zoo rest room and then left the baby in a trash can. <br><br>District Judge Jefferson Sellers yesterday reduced

Friday, August 4th 2000, 12:00 am

By: News On 6

(Tulsa-AP) -- A Tulsa judge has reduced the sentence given a woman who gave birth in a Tulsa Zoo rest room and then left the baby in a trash can.

District Judge Jefferson Sellers yesterday reduced Patricia Ann Long's sentence to 20 years in prison and 20 years probation. Sellers last year sentenced Long to 25 years in prison, followed by lifetime probation.

The 40-year-old Long pleaded guilty to a child abuse count without a plea agreement. Sellers said he had received new information about Long's mental capacity. A state Department of Corrections report says Long appears to be mildly developmentally disabled.

The Dewey woman gave birth in November 1998 on a toilet in the zoo restroom. Long said she severed the umbilical cord with her fingers and that the baby girl fell in the toilet. She put the baby in a trashcan and covered her with paper towels. Zoo workers found the baby, who was later adopted.