
An uproar over how a woman in Detroit was treated in a county lockup has many people debating on how to handle such cases in the future.
People are furious after a new report out of Detroit indicates a woman who was being held in a jail cell because she wasn’t able to pay a fine for driving on a suspended license had to give birth to her child on a dirty jail floor. The woman, who was interviewed by local news stations recently, said she told staff she was having contractions but was completely ignored for eight hours.
Because the woman, Jessica Preston, wasn’t able to pay a fine for driving on a suspended license, she had to stay in the Macomb County Jail until her court date. Her son Elijha is now 9 months old. Preston said it was a traumatic incident during which she was refused medical attention until many hours later, forcing her to give birth in the jail cell.
The county sheriff dismissed the accusation, however, saying he was sure staff treated her fine and that Preston was moved to a medical wing promptly. He also said if taxpayers want to see jail conditions improve, they’ll have to foot the bill.
UNACCEPTABLE by all Medical Standards.