A Maryland woman has filed a federal lawsuit, claiming she was forced to give birth to her baby in a filthy jail cell after pleading with correctional officers to call in a nurse to assist with the delivery. In court documents filed this week, Jazmin Valentine asserts that in July 2021, she notified staff at Washington County Jail in Hagerstown how she began having contractions while locked up behind bars. And despite her screams and persistent request to have a medical staff member by her side, officials allegedly laughed at her, thinking she was “playing games trying to get out of her cell.”
The complaint, which was filed in the District Court of Maryland states, further details how Valentine saw no other option but to slide the amniotic sac under her door just so that officers would believe that she was, in fact, giving birth inside the cell. Her attorney, per the New York Post, compared their client’s mistreatment to an animal, which they say would have still been treated better than how Valentine’s situation was handled.
A Maryland woman is suing after being forced to give birth on a dirty jail cell floor. Staff allegedly ignored her screams for 6 hours, laughing and claiming she was in drug withdrawal.
Jazmin Valentine says her newborn developed a staph infection from unsanitary conditions. pic.twitter.com/Y7OBc7VfeB
— AJ+ (@ajplus) September 28, 2022
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“An animal at the zoo giving birth would have had a veterinary attendant,” her lawyer, David Lane, said. “She actually thought she was going to die. She was greatly fearful her child was going to die. They just did not care.” Valentine had been locked up after allegedly violating her probation, but even she doesn’t believe that officers had any sort of compassion as she feared she would lose her life while giving birth in an unsanitary environment.
“In my brain, anything could happen. I felt like I was in the hands of the devil, honestly,” she explained in her suit, adding that her baby had developed a staph infection, which may have been the cause of the way in which the baby was delivered.
“What should have been one of the happiest days of her life was instead a day of terror, pain, and humiliation that continues to cause her ongoing emotional trauma,” she explained.
As a mother, I’m outraged.
This 1st time mom was jailed for a parole violation & treated as less than human during the most fragile time in her life.
But I don’t care if she was on death row. We can do better. https://t.co/XIko5NEPrQ
— Danielle Veith ☮️ (@dsyreetav) September 29, 2022
Lane continued, “What we’re looking for is accountability. We want to send a message to every jail and prison in America: They will pay a steep, steep price when they treat human beings like animals.” And even after birthing her child, Valentine wasn’t released until a few more days after the ordeal.