Woman Who Drowned Her Newborn Baby in a Toilet as a Teen Will Be Freed

Panna Krom, now 26, was convicted at 17 of killing her newborn in a toilet to hide the pregnancy from her parents.

A Connecticut woman who was sentenced to 18 years in prison for drowning her newborn baby in a toilet when she was just 17 will be released from prison early.

On Wednesday, the state Board of Pardons and Paroles ordered that Panna Krom be released Sept. 30, WFSB reports.

Read: Murderer Asks Parole Board for Early Release But They Add 20 Years To His Sentence Instead

Now 26, Krom will be free after serving about half her sentence.

Leading up to the decision, Krom's attorney, Vicki Hutchinson, argued her client had received more than 10 times the average sentence normally handed down in such cases.

Krom said she committed the crime because her parents, who are from Cambodia, did not approve of premarital sex. "I now know how irresponsible actions can result in dire consequences, a notion that my 17-year-old mentality could not accept," Krom told the board.

Read: Alabama State Trooper Accused of On-Duty Rape Gets 6 Months Behind Bars in Plea Deal

Hutchinson also pointed out that Krom has completed her high school diploma, as well as six semesters of college, while serving her time.

"There is nothing more that I can do behind these prison walls to rehabilitate myself," Krom wrote in her statement to parole board. "But I can help people on the outside and also continue to make myself a better person."

The state opposed the early release, arguing that Krom's attorneys had originally agreed to a plea deal that would have made her eligible for parole in 2019.

Watch: 40 Years Later: Victims Recall Being Buried Alive, Kidnapper Gets Parole