Judge denies sentence reduction request for man who put abortion drug in wife's water

HOUSTON, Texas (KTRK) -- A Houston attorney was denied being let out of jail early nearly two months after taking a plea deal when he was accused of placing an abortion-inducing drug in his pregnant wife's water in 2022.

In February, Mason Herring agreed to serve 180 days in jail and 10 years of probation.

On Wednesday, Mason Herring's attorney requested a judge to let him out of jail after serving just over two months of his roughly six-month jail sentence.

The judge denied that request, and frankly, prosecutors were pleased with that.

Both prosecutors and Mason Herring's attorneys declined to speak with Eyewitness News.

Mason Herring is expected to be released in August at the end of his sentence.

Catherine Herring, who is in the process of divorcing Mason Herring, said 180 days was not long enough.

She gave birth to the baby, the couple's third child, about 10 weeks early and told the court the baby had severe developmental delays and went to weekly therapy due to being born premature.

ORGINAL REPORT: Houston attorney accused of drugging wife's water to induce abortion

Catherine Herring told authorities in March 2022 that she knew something was up when she started feeling sick after drinking the cloudy water her husband gave her, saying she needed to stay hydrated for the baby.

The woman also likened the punishment to less time than the number of days their daughter, Josephine, had a feeding tube in her and the probation as one year less than they were married.

Catherine also stated that her husband cut her and their three children financially. The couple separated in early 2022 but were said to be working on their marriage and discovered she was pregnant in February 2022.

Catherine became ill and was taken to urgent care. The baby survived after being born 10 weeks prematurely and weighed just over three pounds. She is now a year and a half old.

In 2022, charges in this case were filed as felony assault to induce abortion, and it was the first in Texas. But as part of the plea deal, charges were downgraded to injury to a child and assault of a pregnant person.

Herring is accused of placing medication in the form of powder used for abortions in his wife's water. His wife said she had video evidence and text messages that showed Herring tried to poison her several times.

A private lab confirmed the presence of the abortion medication inside the water that was tested after the Houston Police Department's involvement, which Catherine said took months.

She said she stayed silent for two years while the case worked through the system. Now, she said she is relieved to be able to tell her story.

RELATED: Man accused of putting abortion-inducing drug in wife's water takes deal, to serve 180 days in jail