Tennessee and Virginia Agree: Stop Shackling Pregnant Women
Women's dignity was vindicated twice in a double dose of justice on Thursday. A federal jury in Tennessee awarded Juana Villegas $200,000 as compensation for the suffering she endured when the Davidson County Sheriff's Office unconstitutionally shackled her to her delivery bed in 2008.
Meanwhile, just across the state line in Virginia (which failed to enact anti-shackling legislation earlier this year), Delegate Patrick Hope, of the Virginia General Assembly , and anti-shackling advocates announced that the Virginia Department of Corrections has agreed to implement regulations prohibiting the shackling of pregnant inmates during labor and post-partum recovery.
These two actions are just the latest in a string of actions this year recognizing that shackling women during labor and delivery is not only inhumane but is bad for the health of women and their babies. Earlier this year, four states — Hawaii, Rhode Island, Idaho and Nevada — passed laws to eliminate this inhumane and unconstitutional practice, and recently a federal court held that shackling violates the Constitution.
Clearly, people are finally getting the message.
While there's good cause to stop and celebrate this week, we still have plenty to do. Davidson County is appealing the verdict, and the Virginia legislature has yet to pass a law that will protect all women who are incarcerated — such as those in local jails and detention facilities not protected by the DOC policy. That's why the ACLU will continue its work across the country to end this barbaric practice and protect the health of women prisoners and their babies.
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Aug 19th, 2011 at 12:40pm
"dignity?" Really? they are prisoners, If they were worried about their "dignity" they shouldn't have committed crimes
Aug 19th, 2011 at 1:40pm
Absolutely, Yikes, because no one is ever wrongfully convicted, and no one is ever sentenced more harshly than they should be.
Aug 19th, 2011 at 2:29pm
yikes? they are still human beings. they deserve to be treated as such.
Aug 19th, 2011 at 5:19pm
"Yikes" -- Dignity and punishement are independent concepts. That is what I and everyone else here sees -- why do you not?
One can commit a crime and still have dignity. Have you ever heard of civil disobedience?
Aug 21st, 2011 at 6:31am
Yall realize pregnant prisoners still spit on CO's, throw fecies, and try to fight CO's, yes even the pregnant ones.
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