The sheriff’s office did not immediately respond to the lawsuit, but generally the county can’t comment on pending litigation.
The lawsuit contends that 27-year-old Melissa Hall was shackled every time she was hospitalized for pre-natal care, labor and post-partum treatment during her incarceration in 2013 from February through August. The lawsuit doesn’t state why Hall was in jail, and one of her attorneys, Theresa Kleinhaus, said she could not say.
The lawsuit alleges that during labor, the medical staff asked sheriff’s deputies to unshackle Hall but they refused. As a result, staffers had trouble administering an epidural and Hall was exposed “to unreasonable risks for harm,” the lawsuit says.
The U.S. Marshals Service, the Federal Bureau of Prisons, and Immigration and Customs Enforcement have all adopted policies restricting the use of shackles on pregnant women, the lawsuit notes.
Source: www.jsonline.com
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