KANSAS CITY, Mo. – Jackson County will implement new policies about the use of restraints while transporting pregnant women in custody after settling a lawsuit Tuesday.
Megon Riedel settled her lawsuit against the county and three correctional officers, receiving damages along with the written policy and procedure changes. She had sued the county after she had been shackled and chained while driven in a van across state while she was in labor. She was represented by the ACLU of Missouri.
“Shackling and chaining a pregnant prisoner while she is in labor violates the Constitution. Not only is it cruel and unusual punishment, it jeopardizes the health of both mother and baby,” said Tony Rothert, legal director of the ACLU of Missouri. “The terms of the settlement represent a commitment from Jackson County to ensure that what happened to Ms. Riedel does not happen again.”
According to the ACLU, Riedel was sent to the Women’s Eastern Reception, Diagnostic and Correctional Center (WERDCC) in Vandalia hours after physicians at the Truman Medical Center in Kansas City informed correction officers she had a high-risk pregnancy. They were told they needed to have a delivery plan in place because Riedel was already having contractions.
Riedel was shackled and transported to WERDCC.
The ACLU says Riedel arrived at the WERDCC vomiting, bleeding and in severe pain. There, she was evaluated by a doctor and sent by ambulance to Audrain Medical Center in Mexico, where she delivered her son.
The ACLU praised Jackson County for instituting the policy changes and said more counties in the state should follow suit.
“We are pleased to see the officials and systems that committed this injustice take responsibility. Unfortunately, this indifference to a person in medical distress is not unique to Megon and we will continue to hold those who run our jails and prisons accountable,” said Jeffrey A. Mittman, executive director of the ACLU of Missouri. “We hope to see other county jails across the state follow Jackson County’s lead in taking steps to make sure that pregnant women are treated humanely.”
The ACLU still represents another inmate who filed a lawsuit after being shackled for transportation while pregnant, Tara Rhodes. Her child, unlike Riedel’s, died.
