Story County’s decision Friday to accept Ann McGowan’s guilty plea to an involuntary manslaughter charge is disappointing.

The methodical nature of McGowan’s actions, combined with McGowan’s bizarre assertion that she didn’t know she was pregnant before giving birth, are reason enough for county attorneys to reject the plea bargain and press for a first-degree murder conviction.

The defense attorneys for McGowan argued she had lost so much blood while giving birth she couldn’t think clearly, although she could recall events accurately. Indeed, that would seem to be one of the only explanations for strangling a baby you think is dead. McGowan said she tied pantyhose around the infant’s neck because she “didn’t want it to suffer if it did start breathing.”

Then she tossed the body into the garbage, where it was eventually discovered by Ames police.

Admittedly, trauma can make people do strange things. Apparently, the defense thinks stress caused McGowan to try to cover up the fact that she had delivered what she thought was a stillborn child.

If McGowan had been found not guilty of first-degree murder, she would have gone free. That’s essentially the same result as this plea bargain that Story County officials should never have allowed.

Editorial Board: Nicole Paseka, Amy Schierbrock, Alicia Ebaugh, Ayrel Clark, Lucas Grundmeier