NEW YORK (AP) — A New York judge who freed a woman from jail so she could get a heart transplant is fuming after learning she's yet to be accepted into a transplant program because of her smoking.
Nassau County District Court Judge Francis Ricigliano (reh-sih-glee-AH'-noh) told 47-year-old Diane McCloud on Monday she's getting one more chance.
McCloud was released in January from a 15-month petty larceny sentence. Her doctor recently notified the district attorney's office she has refused to stop smoking and has missed several appointments and drug tests.
McCloud's attorney, Leonard Issacs, says the judge and prosecutors have been fair.
The judge ordered a June 10 status report on the woman's efforts to stop smoking.
The Hempstead woman says she started smoking at age 13 and smokes about four cigarettes a day.
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Information from: Newsday, http://www.newsday.com
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