Judges now to provide extra considerations for women, during bail hearings, if the woman is pregnant.
I don’t have an objection to releasing a non-violent offender from jail if they are not a threat to society and the likelihood is they will show up for the court date.
I do have an issue with the continued deviation of law solely based on gender, and this strikes me as simply another advantage that we have now baked in to law……..based on gender.
How many men are being held in jail awaiting the trial for a non-violent offense, because they can’t come up with the money for bail, and they end up losing their job because of absence?
And once they lose their jobs, things spiral. They then eventually lose their house, maybe their car, get hauled before another court because they can’t make their child support payments.
I hear no or little concern for the plight of these men. Just another way to extend the pussy pass.
I will also mention that the holding facilities for pregnant women are pretty decent. The medical care is good. The food is hot and served three times a day on schedule. Beds have clean linen. Doctors on 24 hours staffing. For many of these women, held on low level drug charges, the best outcome for the baby would be for the woman to remain in the facility.
Men, on the other hand, are held in hell-holes. The Cook County jail would rival the conditions in some third world countries.
Not a peek of concern for the way the system ruins these men’s lives.
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It started as a shouting match in a Cook County courtroom last year is now on the verge of shaping state policy for pregnant women in jail waiting for trial.
The contentious case heard in August before a longtime judge inspired a bill — passed last week by the Illinois House and Senate — that seeks to reduce the likelihood that expectant mothers charged with nonviolent offenses will be held in jail as they wait for their cases to be tried.
The measure, which requires judges to hold additional hearings before ordering a pregnant woman be held in jail, has reached Republican Gov. Bruce Rauner’s desk and needs his signature to become law.
“This is commonsense and compassionate public policy, and I hope that (Rauner) signs it quickly,” said state Rep. Kelly Cassidy, who sponsored the bill. “I go back to contemplating the birth stories for these children and that we have the opportunity to impact those kids’ lives. … It’s worth it.”
“Having three kids myself, I know it is a critical, critical period for a child to be with his or her mom,” Sussman said Tuesday. “I was shocked that this was going on, particularly for a nonviolent, low-level offender who was essentially pulled over for having a nonfunctioning headlight.”
The bill requires judges to find an alternative — such as electronic monitoring, placement in a drug-treatment facility or personal-recognizance release — for women likely to give birth while in custody. Judges can order pretrial detention only after holding a hearing to determine if a woman poses a threat to others.
It’s difficult to assess how widespread jailhouse pregnancies are because Illinois does not keep centralized data about them, according to Cassidy and Alexis Mansfield, lead attorney at Chicago Legal Advocacy for Incarcerated Mothers. National data on the issue are scant too.
As of Tuesday, the jail had 16 pregnant detainees awaiting trial, two of whom were out of jail on electric monitoring, said Hanke Gratteau, director of the Sheriff’s Justice Institute.
How can a woman be expected to be happy with a man who insists on treating her as if she were a perfectly normal human being.
Untamed 1 year, 8 months ago.
