RSS
Home
Does Cook County Sheriff shackle women inmates in childbirth?
Print
Email
RSS
Subscribe
AP file photo of Sheriff Dart/M. Spencer Green
Illinois is one of only two states in the country that ban the use of shackles on female inmates during childbirth. Yet, the practice continues here, according to lawyers representing inmates in a class action lawsuit filed today. According to their news release, attorneys Thomas Morrissey and Kenneth Flaxman will file a motion for certification of a class action suit on behalf of pregnant women who were shackled by employees of the Cook County Sheriff’s Office during childbirth because of an official policy of the Sheriff of Cook County. The lawsuit alleges that the Sheriff’s shackling policy violates the United States Constitution and Illinois law, as well as international treaties.
Twenty-three state corrections departments, along with the federal Bureau of Prisons, have policies that expressly allow restraints during labor, according to a report by Amnesty International U.S.A. This, despite the efforts of medical groups (for example, the Journal of Perinatal Education) as well as advocacy groups such as Chicago Legal Advocacy for Incarcerated Mothers and The Rebecca Project for Human Rights. These groups point out that women in labor are hardly flight risks, and that the shackles can pose a health risk to mother and baby. The Rebecca Project's testimonials on the subject include this quote from a blind California woman identified as Stephanie: “I felt really confused, and kept asking the sheriff, ‘Why are you shackling me? Where do you think I am going?’ I was angry.”
This is a good topic for our crusading Sheriff Tom Dart; here's hoping he follows up quickly and does the right thing.
For more info: Read this 2006 New York Times report which apparently still holds true today
Related Articles:
Comments
