She watched in tears Monday as U.S. District Court Judge Christopher Conner sentenced Hazleton chiropractor Joanne M. Gallagher to 18 months in federal prison in connection with the 1999 death of her daughter, 30-year-old Kimberly Strohecker of Hegins Township.

But 18 months isn't enough, Dawn Strohecker said three days after the sentencing.

"Justice was not served in my daughter's death," Strohecker said in an emotional phone interview Thursday.

"This is wrong. This is so wrong," Strohecker said, sobbing. "Nothing could ever make up for the loss of my daughter, but (Gallagher) needed to go to jail for 20 years to life. ... My daughter died such a horrible, senseless death."

She said she wants to appeal the sentence, but the U.S. Attorney's Office in Harrisburg has said that is not an option.

"That's completely within the discretion of the judge," said Assistant U.S. Attorney Gordon Zubrod. "If the court enters a decision within the guidelines, there's no appeal."

It is unclear whether Gallagher will appeal her sentence. Her attorney, Matthew Gover, said: "My client is reviewing her options. Beyond that, I'm not prepared to comment."

Gallagher, 44, pleaded guilty last year to one count of mail fraud as part of a scheme to defraud the Medicaid program. Gallagher admitted treating Kimberly Strohecker for her severe epilepsy and fraudulently billing Medicaid for the treatment, knowing Medicaid does not cover treatment for epilepsy by a chiropractor.

Kimberly Strohecker died April 29, 1999, after following Gallagher's advice to stop taking her anti-seizure medication. Her mother, Dawn, tried to convince the Schuylkill County District Attorney to file criminal involuntary manslaughter charges against Gallagher, but the district attorney contended there wasn't enough negligence for Strohecker's death to be considered a crime.

It wasn't until the U.S. Attorney's Office was notified of the case that Gallagher faced criminal charges of mail and Medicaid fraud.

"This case should have been prosecuted as an involuntary manslaughter in the district attorney's office," Zubrod said. "The DA's office has their own reasons for not prosecuting."

Dawn Strohecker remains bitter and angry about then-District Attorney Claude Shields' refusal to take the case, but now she's equally angry about the 18-month jail sentence Gallagher received in the federal case. She said Zubrod had promised that Gallagher would get 20 years to life in prison, not 18 to 24 months, as was dictated by Judge Conner.

Zubrod denied making any promises and explained that 20 years to life is the harshest sentence that could be handed down for mail fraud. He said every mail fraud case is treated differently, depending on circumstances. This case was treated as if it were an involuntary manslaughter, for which federal sentencing guidelines call for a jail sentence of 15 to 21 months, he said.

In fact, Zubrod said, Gallagher's sentencing guidelines were bumped up to 18 to 24 months in prison because the judge found Kimberly Strohecker to be a "vulnerable" victim, making the crime more serious.

"We got the highest sentencing guidelines we could from the judge," Zubrod said.

That's little consolation for Dawn Strohecker.

"Not that it'll bring my daughter back, but I wanted justice for Kim. And this is far from justice."

Brett Marcy, the Times Leader's Harrisburg correspondent, may be reached at (717) 238-4728.