...the boy...

Is this her son, or just some random boy? I'm guessing it's some privacy law protecting minors, but this whole framing is absurd and confusing. Did she abduct some random kid she knew from the neighborhood, or was it her own child? I'm guessing the latter, but it's just that, a guess.

McGovern went on to claim that the boy was missing, prompting a large-scale hunt for him involving 80 police officers, the force helicopter, and mountain rescue and coastguard personnel.

Putting aside the monstrous actions themselves, you'd think they would have at least nailed her for wasting police resources. They take that shit much more seriously than little things like attempted murder and child abuse.

First offender McGovern was assessed as being at a low risk of reoffending and someone who did not present a risk to the public.

Someone at low risk of reoffending wouldn't have offended in such a heinous and obviously unstable manner in the first place, numskulls.

...the child but he was only found 24 hours later when a man out walking his dog heard the youngster crying.

Major props to this dude. It was just right time, right place, but he's a hero.

Now... the excuses...

Lord Young said that she had suffered from clinical depression and anxiety linked to low self-esteem for many years but had made "great strides" towards getting her life together.

A bunch of people do, nowadays. They don't go out and try to murder children.

He said that she had weaned herself off illicit drugs, which was greatly to her credit, and her mental health had improved significantly.

Don't care; she was either giving the kid drugs directly, inadvertently exposing him, or giving him access. There's a limit to tolerance for this sort of thing, and she's well past it.

A hair sample revealed that the youngster was exposed to drugs from late June 2022. Mr Cameron said: "It is not possible to say with any greater precision when that exposure was nor in what quantity. The findings were, however, consistent with exposure on more than one occasion."

Yeah. Nope. Go directly to jail. At least.

Defence counsel John Scullion KC said: "The accused recalls feeling a sense of panic and describes feeling that something flipped in her mind that day."

That's the defense. These people have no shame.

He said that McGovern was "a vulnerable individual" who was introduced to cocaine...

The defence counsel said: "I think it is plain that she bitterly regrets her lifestyle when using cocaine and the impact of the drug on her personality, culminating in these offences."

Again, no excuse. Some murderers regret their actions...and she almost managed to promote herself to murderer anyway. Would it still be fine, if she'd succeeded it getting rid of the kid, but still regretted it?

He said that she had taken steps to deal with the drug problem that had blighted her life for several years and added: "She has had mental health issues throughout her adult life, issues with anxiety and depression."

Boo-hoo.

Mr Scullion said: "The author of the report confirms she displays shame and remorse for the pain and suffering she has caused, which, in my submission, is both *genuine and profound."

Whatever.