GUILTY IL - Kianna Rudesill, 4, beaten to death, Cullom, 5 May 2011

Moments before Heather Lamie was sentenced to life in prison Friday, she told the judge she loved Kianna Rudesill, the 4-year-old foster child she was convicted of killing...

But during the trial, Livingston County State's Attorney Seth Uphoff maintained that Lamie was the only adult in the Cullom house when Kianna suffered blunt force trauma to the head... A jury returned two guilty verdicts on Oct. 7: murder and endangering the life or health of a child.

Uphoff reminded the court Friday that several doctors testified during the trial that the amount of force needed to bring about that trauma was "acute" and "catastrophic."

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A woman convicted of murder in the death of her foster daughter testified Tuesday that mistakes by her defense lawyer cost her a fair trial, including the ability to ask the jury to convict her of a far less serious offense.

Heather Lamie is seeking a new trial in the 2011 death of Kianna Rudesill, a foster child placed along with her three siblings in the Lamie home in Cullom.

Livingston County State's Attorney Randy Yedinak referred to Lamie's claims as "playing Monday morning quarterback" in an effort to reverse a trial outcome that sent her to prison for life.

While rejecting a new trial, the state did agree that Lamie is entitled to a new sentencing hearing based on her claim that the law under which she was sentenced to life has been ruled unconstitutional. She will be eligible for 20 to 60 years when she is resentenced sometime after a ruling on her petition for a new trial.

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In denying the post-conviction petition, Judge Mark Fellheimer rejected defense arguments that Lamie was denied a fair trial because of failures by her lawyer to call several witnesses and request that the jury be allowed to consider the lesser offense of second-degree murder.

But Fellheimer agreed with defense lawyer Joshua Rinker that Lamie is entitled to a new sentencing hearing because the state law under which she was sentenced to life has been ruled unconstitutional.

That hearing has not been set, but now the sentencing range will be 20 to 60 years.

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The life sentence of a foster mother was reduced to 38 years Tuesday after a judge issued a new sentence in the 2011 death of a 4-year-old girl placed in the woman's care.

Judge Mark Fellheimer acknowledged the oberservation of both lawyers that Illinois law requires Lamie to serve 100 percent of her sentence. But the child's age and the circumstances of her death were significant factors requiring a significant sentence, said the judge.

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