A nurse in Wisconsin who severed a dying patient’s foot without medical authorization or the man’s consent has been spared jail time after entering a no contest plea, according to local reports.
Mary Brown, who carried out the unauthorized amputation in May 2022, will not serve any prison sentence but has been ordered to pay $443 (roughly ₱25,000) in court costs, the Pierce County Journal reported. The victim, a 62-year-old man suffering from severe frostbite, died days after the incident.
Following her plea, the charges initially filed against her—including mayhem, elder abuse, and intentionally causing great bodily harm—were dismissed.
A no contest plea, as defined by Cornell Law School, means the defendant does not admit guilt but accepts conviction and sentencing as though guilty.
Court documents cited by PEOPLE Magazine confirmed that Brown is now permanently barred from practicing as a registered or licensed practical nurse in the state.
The case drew national attention when NBC News revealed disturbing details: Brown allegedly told others she wanted to display the amputated foot at her family’s taxidermy shop with a sign reading, “Wear your boots, kids.” She was not acting under a physician’s order when she cut off the man’s foot with scissors, stored it in a bag, and placed it in a freezer.
Authorities were alerted after the patient’s death in June 2022, when the county medical examiner flagged the case due to “unusual circumstances.” The man’s severed foot had been placed beside his body at the time of autopsy.
