Prisons Often Shackle Pregnant Inmates in Labor
`Shawanna Nelson, a prisoner at the McPherson Unit in Newport, Ark., had been in labor for more than 12 hours when she arrived at Newport Hospital on Sept. 20, 2003. Ms. Nelson, whose legs were shackled together and who had been given nothing stronger than Tylenol all day, begged, according to court papers, to have the shackles removed.
Laura Strange, a California inmate, shackled to her bed before the state enacted a law banning the practice during labor, delivery and recovery.
Though her doctor and two nurses joined in the request, her lawsuit says, the guard in charge of her refused.
“She was shackled all through labor,” said Ms. Nelson’s lawyer, Cathleen V. Compton. “The doctor who was delivering the baby made them remove the shackles for the actual delivery at the very end.”‘
