Dina Tyler
Arkansas Department of Correction
P.O. Box 8707
Pine Bluff, AR 71611-8707
Dear Ms. Tyler,
I find it appalling that women prisoners are restrained during labor and delivery. I recently read about the case of Shawanna Nelson, who reportedly was not only shackled, but was given nothing more than Tylenol for her pain. This, I believe, amounts to cruel and unusual punishment (forbidden, thanks to the Eighth Amendment to the United States Constitution).
The article I read quoted you as saying that pregnant women prisoners “are still convicted felons, and sometimes violent in nature.” You state: “There have been instances when we’ve had a female inmate try to hurt hospital staff during delivery.” I am going to hazard a guess that you could fill a stadium with hospital workers who have been hurt by women in labor who have never been near a prison.
Your descriptions of these women as “convicted felons” may bring to people’s minds violent crimes. Perhaps she is a felon, but Ms. Nelson was not incarcerated for a violent crime. I came across an interview on a web site for Arkansas Educational Television Network in which you are quoted as saying that the male population of prisoners “tends to be much more violent and much more prone to outburst than the female population...”.
Every woman should have the right to be made as comfortable as possible during labor and delivery. Certainly one wants to ensure that prisoners do not try to make a break for it in between contractions. I believe you can find a better way to do so than to make a life-changing event into a living hell.
Truly,
Liz Mann
