READ: A woman was forced to give birth in Brooklyn criminal court 2 nights ago on a courtroom bench. Shackled. All while courtroom personnel gawked.
And the judge ultimately refused even to dismiss her case--trespassing on her own rooftop. This is "justice" in America. More:
As a public defender, I spent hundreds of hours in this exact same courtroom in Brooklyn. Arguing for simple justice. Often being scoffed at for trying.
People in crisis. In pain. Passed out. Shaking in fear. Some barely able to stand. Hands shackled. And yes, pregnant women.
Our job as public defenders was to try to slow things down and snap the courtroom actors out of their hypnotized state of callousness. Pay attention to the person standing next to us as a person.
Not just another number.
A woman that pregnant should never have been brought to the courtroom at all. Let alone for a nothing misdemeanor. Let alone in shackles.
What is wrong with the police who arrested her? The prosecutor who charged her? The prosecutor & judge who wouldn't drop the case?
If those in power in a so-called "progressive" city, with a "progressive prosecutor," with "progressive judges," treat even people giving birth like this … just imagine what it’s like for all.
Our criminal legal system is a cruel, costly waste.
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