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Pregnant inmate shackled in hospital during labor
Travis Loller, AP
Issue date: 7/16/08 Section: News
NASHVILLE, Tenn. (AP) _ A pregnant illegal immigrant found herself shackled to a hospital bed while enduring labor after being arrested for driving without a license, according to police and her attorney.
Juana Villegas of Nashville was arrested and taken to the Davidson County Sheriff's Office on July 3 after a Berry Hill police officer pulled her over for careless driving and found she had no driver's license.
Sheriff's spokeswoman Karla Weikal said a check of her immigration status found she had been previously deported, making her a medium-security inmate.
Weikal said the sheriff's office knew the federal Immigration and Customs Enforcement agency planned to release Villegas on her own recognizance because of the pregnancy, but she had to stay in jail until she had seen a judge on the local charges.
Villegas' attorney, Elliott Ozment, said Villegas was still in jail awaiting a hearing on the driving charge when she went into labor on the night of July 5. She was taken to Nashville General Hospital at Meharry, where she was handcuffed to the bed by her right wrist and left ankle until shortly before the birth.
Weikal gave a similar account, but said she was only shackled to the bed by the ankle. She said officers took off all restraints two hours before the birth and put them back on about six hours after the birth. A guard was with her at all times.
"The bottom line is she was an inmate in custody," Weikal said. "If she had escaped from the hospital, that would have been the story."
Ozment said his client endured unnecessarily harsh treatment for a misdemeanor violation. He said he is still deciding whether to file a lawsuit in the case.
"It was a denial of her basic human rights," Ozment said. He said officers would not allow her to take a breastpump with her from the hospital even though she was separated from the baby for more than a day after she was discharged from the hospital, causing painfully engorged breasts.
Juana Villegas of Nashville was arrested and taken to the Davidson County Sheriff's Office on July 3 after a Berry Hill police officer pulled her over for careless driving and found she had no driver's license.
Sheriff's spokeswoman Karla Weikal said a check of her immigration status found she had been previously deported, making her a medium-security inmate.
Weikal said the sheriff's office knew the federal Immigration and Customs Enforcement agency planned to release Villegas on her own recognizance because of the pregnancy, but she had to stay in jail until she had seen a judge on the local charges.
Villegas' attorney, Elliott Ozment, said Villegas was still in jail awaiting a hearing on the driving charge when she went into labor on the night of July 5. She was taken to Nashville General Hospital at Meharry, where she was handcuffed to the bed by her right wrist and left ankle until shortly before the birth.
Weikal gave a similar account, but said she was only shackled to the bed by the ankle. She said officers took off all restraints two hours before the birth and put them back on about six hours after the birth. A guard was with her at all times.
"The bottom line is she was an inmate in custody," Weikal said. "If she had escaped from the hospital, that would have been the story."
Ozment said his client endured unnecessarily harsh treatment for a misdemeanor violation. He said he is still deciding whether to file a lawsuit in the case.
"It was a denial of her basic human rights," Ozment said. He said officers would not allow her to take a breastpump with her from the hospital even though she was separated from the baby for more than a day after she was discharged from the hospital, causing painfully engorged breasts.
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news across the neocon empire
posted 7/21/08 @ 8:33 AM CST
My God, are there no depths too low for the Police in Tennessee to stoop to? What a bunch of barbarians!!! I sure am glad I live in a civilized (free) country. (Continued…)
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