Jail Outrage of the Day

By Jeralyn, Section Inmates and Prisons
Posted on Mon Jul 30, 2007 at 04:43:00 PM EST
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In Pennsylvania, a pregnant inmate is left in her Lackawanna county jail cell alone during labor while guards monitor her with a camera and refuse her assistance.

Despite her pleas for help and screams, she was forced to give birth unattended. After the baby was born, a female jailer reportedly cut the umbilical cord with her fingernails. Only then, were mother and daughter brought to the hospital.

The county has praised the prison staff's actions.

County officials are contending the staff at the prison reacted "fantastically" and told local reporters they believed the prison guards and the nurse on duty were diligent in their care.

County commissioner and chairman of the county prison board A.J. Munchak, Warden Janine Donate and Dr. Edward Zaloga, the county prison's chief medical director, all praised the staff. "As I said yesterday [Monday], medically, medical-wise and security-wise, everything was done properly," Munchak told the Scranton Times-Tribune

The mother has filed a lawsuit alleging violation of her civil rights. The baby is now in foster care.

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Jail Outrage of the Day | 14 comments (14 topical)

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I hope she destroys them all. (5.00 / 1) (#1)
by lilybart on Mon Jul 30, 2007 at 07:48:20 PM EST

This is barbaric and inhumane. Her sentence was jail, not a painful scary unattended birth.

Just how much security does a woman need who is giving birth?

Sick.

When I first read this I didn't even know how (5.00 / 1) (#3)
by Militarytracy on Mon Jul 30, 2007 at 09:41:32 PM EST

to respond. I still really don't. I don't know how someone finds justice after being treated so inhumanely. I know she can seek it and do hope that she does find it......all of it, I hope she GETS SOME for herself and her child.


: Not her child anymore...... (none / 0) (#7)
by kdog on Tue Jul 31, 2007 at 09:49:30 AM EST

at least "legally", property of the state now...poor kid.

Earlier coverage (5.00 / 1) (#4)
by Peter G on Mon Jul 30, 2007 at 09:57:24 PM EST

states that Ms Staten was a federal detainee in a minor crack case, who had agreed to a guilty plea and was facing no more than four years. She should never have been detained at all. A misapplication of the federal bail statute, and an outrage that the U.S. Marshals use such local dumps as contract federal facilities. Both the local jailers and the Marshal may be liable for deliberate indifference to medical needs.

According to the lawyer (1.00 / 1) (#5)
by ding7777 on Tue Jul 31, 2007 at 07:16:34 AM EST

Even when the nurse came to the (camera) cell, the nurse didn't do very much at all. The prison guard did everything.

Looks like a nurse was present. Without more information, this story is worthy of a National Inquirer award.

So what. (none / 0) (#9)
by Joe Bob on Tue Jul 31, 2007 at 04:57:41 PM EST

I have the utmost respect for nurses. My mother was an RN for 25 years.

That said, if there's not an M.D. after your name you have no business acting as the sole supervisor of a childbirth. That's especially true when the patient isn't even in a medical setting, like say a prison cell.


Because (none / 0) (#11)
by ding7777 on Wed Aug 01, 2007 at 06:42:57 AM EST

it shows a discrepancy of the 1st reporting.

As midnight approached, Staten felt the contractions and pressed a button in her cell to signal she needed something. A female guard took her to the medical unit.
For an hour, the nurse was with her ( in the medical unit)

Staten's story might have an element of truth to it, but (and this is my point) the firt reports are tabloidish.


How many jail administrators would want (none / 0) (#2)
by JSN on Mon Jul 30, 2007 at 07:56:29 PM EST

a baby born in their jail? There are too many contradictions in this story.

The earlier story (none / 0) (#6)
by Deconstructionist on Tue Jul 31, 2007 at 07:37:22 AM EST

provides some needed context, but I'm having a hard time believing that THE JAIL could not reach 911 or a private ambulance service.

If that is true it's indicative of extremely serious problems of an incredibly dangerous nature. If external communication from THE JAIL is so limited what would happen in the case of an escape, riot or hostage situation? Would it take hours until THE JAIL could make contact with outside sources? If the landline phones don't work properrly , the 911 Center is "busy," no one has a cell phone and apparently no phone book either I'm of the opinion that JAIL may have some security issues in addition to the medical care problems.

Well, (none / 0) (#12)
by ding7777 on Wed Aug 01, 2007 at 06:48:39 AM EST

they still could use radios for escapees/riots and also call direct to the ambulance service (which they did).


: My not so subtle point (none / 0) (#13)
by Deconstructionist on Wed Aug 01, 2007 at 07:01:17 AM EST

is that I find the jail's explanation about why the woman had to give birth at the jail less than credible. An effort is made to blame the incident on a communications systems breakdown which prevented the jail from having the woman transported to a hospital as she should have been and then claim the jail did a good job in light of the unavoidable emergency created by the systems failure. I find that hard to believe.

the child (none / 0) (#8)
by Al on Tue Jul 31, 2007 at 10:51:38 AM EST

Besides the obvious torture of the mother, what if the birth had run into complications? What would have happened to the child?

ugly story (none / 0) (#10)
by Joe Bob on Tue Jul 31, 2007 at 05:07:24 PM EST

What sort of inhuman SOB could take a pregnant woman whose water has broken and drag her back into a cell when she's screaming to be taken to the hospital?

Do people like that have a greater tendency to become prison guards? Or does being a prison guard turn otherwise decent people heartless?

: Joe Bob, (5.00 / 1) (#14)
by Peaches on Wed Aug 01, 2007 at 09:27:30 AM EST

Its the latter. There is a culture inside a prison. Many of the guards are idealistic, but your loyalty if first to your fellow workers. There is nothing worse than being branded as someone your fellow workers cannot count on. Your shift watching over a cellblock is preceded and followed by other workers and you soon get a reputation for either being a social worker or a guard. The managers of the prisons give many lectures about the humane treatment of prisoners while enforcing the rules. Their is a component of social worker in being a guard, but the main job of the guards is to enforce the rules. When a cellblock is out of control or some prisoner(s) are acting out, it is almost always blamed upon some guard being manipulated by the prisoner(s) and preying upon the guards desire to do social work and help the prisoner. This is not a reputation a guard wants, so guards learn the rules and enforce them strictly at all times. If there is not a rule governing a pregnant woman and the proper care for her (or if a guard is unaware of the rule) he or she will treat her behavior them same as any other prisoner and repeat to her the rules ("sorry, no one is allowed out of their cells during lockdown for any reason")
I worked in a juvenile detention center for 6 months as a correction officer. I wanted to work with kids who had some big problems and see if I could be a positive influence. The culture of being a guard quickly overwhelmed this impetus to do good and I left for other employment once I realized I was turning heartless to protect my reputation as a guard who cold be counted upon among my fellow correction officers.