GENTRY PLEA: OVERTURN SENTENCE; BACKERS RALLY BEHIND PARENTS.

Byline: Karen Maeshiro Staff Writer

LANCASTER - Supporters of Kathleen and Michael Gentry have started a petition drive aimed at persuading a judge to overturn the Lake Los Angeles couple's conviction for involuntary manslaughter in the death of their daughter.

On June 6, a jury in Van Nuys Superior Court found the Gentrys guilty of fatally starving their severely handicapped daughter Lindsay, who weighed just 44 pounds when she died at age 15 in February 1996.

``I think the chances are very good that (the judge) can use his knowledge of the law and his legal discretion to see a number of things that happened during the trial that will make him come to the conclusion that there was no crime, neglect or conspiracy,'' said Brock d'Avignon, a supporter. ``They did all they humanly could, through over 250 doctor visits, to make sure their daughter lived for 15 years.''

The couple's supporters began gathering signatures Thursday at the Wal-Mart store in Lancaster.

The petitions will be presented to Judge John Fisher on Wednesday, a day before the scheduled sentencing of Kathleen ``Katrina'' Gentry, 46, and Michael Gentry, 55, who insisted their daughter died of a congenital wasting disease.

Fisher has said the potential sentence for both husband and wife could range from probation, with no more time in custody than the 14 months they have already served, to about 10 years in prison. The Gentrys were released on bail during their second trial, but were taken back into custody after the guilty verdict was returned.

More than two years after Lindsay died in February 1996, the Gentrys were charged with having murdered her. They claimed her death was the result of myotonic dystrophy, a congenital disorder characterized by mental deficiency and wasting away of muscles.

In May 1999, jurors deadlocked in a murder trial, with some saying manslaughter would have been a more appropriate charge.

Tried again, the Gentrys were each found guilty on three counts - conspiracy to commit child abuse or endangerment, involuntary manslaughter and child abuse, neglect or endangerment. Kathleen Gentry's lawyer, Lyle Middleton, said the Gentrys were so insistent on their innocence that they rejected a plea bargain that would have kept them out of jail if they had pleaded guilty to a child-abuse charge.

Kathleen Gentry, whose ailments require her to use a wheelchair, was hospitalized with chest pains after the verdict.

An autopsy concluded that pneumonia and marasmus, progressive emaciation caused by a lack of food, were the causes of Lindsay's death.

The verdict outraged supporters of the Gentrys, who said it sparked fears among parents of disabled children that they may face prosecution if their child gets sick or dies.

According to prosecutors, a pattern of abuse, including beatings, began as early as when Lindsay was 6 and teachers and school nurses began noticing bruises, welts, black eyes and bleeding on the young girl's body. A witness also said Michael Gentry once asserted that parents have the right to kill their child.

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3 photos

Photo:

(1 -- color -- ran in AV edition only) Ann Zepeda, left, and Linda Trustman sign petitions circulated in Lancaster on Thursday by Brock d'Avignon, center, and others protesting the parents' conviction for involuntary manslaughter in the death of Lindsay Gentry, 15.

(2 -- color -- ran in AV edition only) Ted Murray of Palmdale signs a petition asking a judge to annul the conviction of Michael Gentry and his wife, Kathleen, shown in a framed family photo with their daughters.

(3 -- color -- ran in AV edition only) Petition circulators in ``Save the Gentrys'' T-shirts tell shoppers they believe the parents were blameless in the death of Lindsay Gentry.

Jeff Goldwater/Staff Photographer