Woman's Prison Sentence Suspended, Pending Her Safe Delivery in Landmark UK Court Ruling
England: Woman's Prison Sentence Suspended, Pending Her Safe Delivery
A suspended sentence has been instituted to ensure the safety of a pregnant woman's delivery, thus overriding her previous conviction. The 22-year-old mother and her unborn child are both impacted by a possibly fatal pre-eclampsia.
The lady was already serving two and a half years of a 5-year sentence for possession of a firearm and ammunition. It was only after a standard pregnancy test was administered to her upon arriving at jail that she learned she was pregnant.
Protesters and the woman's mother expressed concern about the circumstances the expectant mother would encounter throughout the delivery process. Another mother gave birth in her cell in 2019, but her baby didn't survive since no one heard her cries for aid for twelve hours. Among other things, the expectant woman's lawyer Pippa Woodrow discussed the possibility of early labour.
"Several other countries do not imprison pregnant women or new mothers and England's courts are beginning to catch up. Prison will never be a safe place to be pregnant," Janey Starling told The Guardian, speaking on behalf of Level Up, a community campaigning organisation that aims to end the incarceration of pregnant women.
One research by the Nuffield Trust in 2020 indicated that 10% of female inmates in UK jails give birth while incarcerated or en route to a hospital. Two infants have passed away after being delivered in a correctional facility in the last two years.
"We regard this as a quite exceptional case," stated Lord Justice Holroyde, Mr. Justice Garnham, and Mr. Andrew Baker, who are all vice-presidents of the court of appeal criminal division, in an oral verdict.
The courts overturned the criminal court's sentence and imposed a two-year suspended term with a rehabilitation mandate.
"This is quite an exceptional course the court is taking. We are doing it because of the exceptional features of your case," Holroyde told the lady, who listened to the judges' decision over a video link in jail.
'I have never been so terrified of anything in my life as the prospect of having to give birth in prison," stated another woman who was released on bail and is about to give birth soon. Rape alarms have been provided to this lady and several others in other jails around the United Kingdom.
The corporation in charge of HMP Bronzefield, where Rianna Clearly's baby passed away, has referred to them as "personal alarms" and said that they are meant to provide pregnant women "an extra level of reassurance."
"Prisons resorting to handing out rape alarms to pregnant women emphasises the total lack of confidence staff have in their ability to keep people safe," said Seyi Falodun-Liburd, co-director of Level Up, in reaction to these new guidelines.