New Mexico woman sentenced for discarding newborn in dumpster.

Alexis Avila, a teenage mother from New Mexico, has been sentenced to 18 years in prison for throwing her newborn son into a trash dumpster behind a shopping center. The judge suspended two years of the punishment citing mental health concerns and the defendant's age. Avila was convicted of child abuse involving great bodily harm. Her public defender argued that her actions were not premeditated and that a previously undiagnosed mental health disorder played a role. Avila's case spurred new conversations in New Mexico communities and among legislators about the state's safe haven law.