Jackson County State’s Attorney Mike Wepsiec announced Tuesday that he will not seek the death penalty for Apollonia Thomas, who is charged with the murder of her 5-year-old daughter Victoria.

Wepsiec wrote a two-page explanation for why he decided not to pursue the death penalty in this case, but he said that summarizing it would not do it justice. The file was not yet available Tuesday afternoon.

Thomas was arrested Oct. 18 after police received a telephone call from her brother saying she called her mother and told her she shot her baby.

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Police arrived with a Jackson County Ambulance at Thomas’ apartment building on West Sunset Drive about 12:30 p.m. but were held off for an hour by Thomas, who refused to come to the door.

When police gained access to the apartment, they immediately arrested Thomas and took her daughter to Memorial Hospital of Carbondale. Victoria was pronounced dead shortly after arrival.

Thomas’ trial was delayed Tuesday because her attorney, David Rumley, filed a motion to appoint an expert to determine her sanity at the time of the shooting.

Rumley nominated one expert doctor to do the evaluation, but Jackson County Circuit Judge David W. Watt Jr. said the doctor’s fees are high. Watts is searching for an equally qualified, local doctor before the decision is made.

The problem they are facing is some of the local doctors were already involved in this case when Rumley filed a motion for fitness in October to determine Thomas’ mental competence.

The Sixth Amendment guarantees the right to a speedy trial. The defendant must be tried within 120 days of the time of arrest. When a motion is filed by the defendant, the time it takes to file the motion is added to the end of the 120 days.