Maryland

Lawsuit says woman gave birth alone on Maryland jail floor

Published

2 years ago

September 28, 2022

Lawsuit says woman gave birth alone on Maryland jail floor

(AP) – A lady who mentioned she was left to present beginning to her child alone on the soiled, concrete ground of her jail cell in Maryland filed a federal lawsuit Tuesday alleging that jail nurses ignored her screams and pleas for assist for six hours.

Jazmin Valentine alleges some nurses working for the jail’s contracted medical supplier, Pennsylvania-based PrimeCare Medical, Inc., mentioned she was withdrawing from medicine, not in labor, and a few jail staffers and medical employees laughed at her, saying she was simply making an attempt to get out of her cell late at evening in July 2021 on the Washington County jail in Hagerstown.

Valentine claims she punched the partitions of her solitary confinement cell, which didn’t have blankets or sheets, throughout her most painful contractions and eliminated what she believed was her child’s amniotic sac and slid it underneath her cell door to show she was about to have a child.

A fellow inmate, listening to Valentine’s pleas, referred to as Valentine’s boyfriend, who referred to as the jail pleading with staffers to assist her, the lawsuit mentioned.

The nurses additionally ignored a priority raised by a jail deputy about Valentine, however he didn’t contact any superiors, the lawsuit mentioned. He found Valentine holding the child lady in her cell about quarter-hour after she was born simply after midnight on July 4, 2021, and an ambulance was referred to as to take them to the hospital, based on the lawsuit.

Due to the unsanitary situations within the cell, the child developed a kind of staph micro organism an infection that’s immune to many antibiotics, the lawsuit mentioned.

Valentine, who had by no means given beginning earlier than, mentioned she feared that her child would die and he or she would possibly bleed out whereas delivering her. However realizing that nobody was going to assist, she mentioned she was decided to attempt to ship the child on her personal.

“In my mind something might occur,” she mentioned of her fears. “I felt like I used to be within the arms of the satan, actually.”

The lawsuit alleges that Washington County, Maryland, its sheriff division and sheriff, in addition to nurses and deputies on the jail violated Valentine’s rights underneath state regulation and the Structure.

County spokesperson Danielle Weaver mentioned the county had no remark. PrimeCare didn’t instantly return a phone name in search of remark.

Valentine was over eight months pregnant when she was arrested for an alleged probation violation and brought to the jail the day earlier than she went into labor, the lawsuit mentioned. Valentine was launched a number of days later and her child is doing properly, she mentioned Tuesday.

The lawsuit is much like one filed in 2019 by a girl who gave beginning alone in Denver’s jail the 12 months earlier than, claiming that nurses and deputies ignored her pleas for assist for 5 hours. Surveillance video launched then by the regulation agency representing Diana Sanchez, which can be representing Valentine, confirmed her mendacity down on a slim mattress, crying out in ache and delivering a child boy. The town ultimately settled the lawsuit.

Following Sanchez’s supply, the Denver County Sheriff’s Division, which runs the jail, mentioned it modified its coverage to make sure that pregnant inmates who’re in any stage of labor are instantly taken to the hospital. Beforehand, selections about whether or not to maneuver a pregnant inmate had been left to jail nurses however deputies had been licensed to name for an ambulance for somebody in labor.

David Lane, whose regulation agency is concerned in each instances, mentioned he believes they spotlight issues each of privatizing well being care behind bars and the attitudes of correctional directors.

“So long as jail and jail directors view inmates as animals, these sorts of issues will proceed to occur,” he mentioned.

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Related Topics:birth Featured in jail lawsuit Maryland PrimeCare Medical staph infection washington county

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Maryland

Maryland Launches Pioneering Cannabis Workforce Program – LocalNews1.org

Published

2 hours ago

July 1, 2024

Press Room

Maryland Launches Pioneering Cannabis Workforce Program – LocalNews1.org

HAGERSTOWN, MD – The Washington County Department of Business and Economic Development is thrilled to announce a groundbreaking initiative led by Governor Wes Moore: the launch of the Cannabis Workforce Development Program. This pioneering effort, the first of its kind administered by a cannabis regulatory agency nationwide, aims to support Marylanders entering the expanding cannabis industry. The program prioritizes individuals with prior cannabis-related offenses, aligning with Governor Moore’s recent historic pardon of over 175,000 such charges.

Please read below and remember, reach out to Linda Spence, Business Specialist with the Department of Business and Economic Development at [email protected] or by phone at 240-313-2286 if you have additional questions.

ANNAPOLIS, MD — Governor Wes Moore today announced the launch of the Cannabis Workforce Development Program, the first workforce development initiative developed and administered by a cannabis regulatory agency in the nation. This program, which will prioritize individuals with a history of cannabis-related offenses, is launching after Governor Moore’s historic pardon of more than 175,000 cannabis charges last Monday.

“This groundbreaking collaboration will support Marylanders interested in joining the state’s growing cannabis industry and prioritize individuals and communities directly impacted by the War on Drugs,” said Gov. Moore. “For decades, cannabis policy has been used as a cudgel. Together, we prove how cannabis policy can be used as a valuable tool to leave no one behind.”

The Cannabis Workforce Development Program – which will be offered free of charge to eligible applicants – is a joint partnership with the Maryland Cannabis Administration and the Maryland Department of Labor’s Employment Advancement Right Now (EARN) Program. The program will help reduce barriers to employment and create paths to sustainable jobs in the cannabis industry. Applications will be accepted on a rolling basis starting July 1.

“Maryland is leading on cannabis reform and reinforcing that legalization must be accompanied by efforts to address the burdens of criminalization,” said Maryland Cannabis Administration Director Will Tilburg. “Through this program, individuals adversely impacted by cannabis criminalization will be able to receive real-time, hands-on experience and access to job placement.”

Program participants will have access to eight instructor-led, self-paced courses taught by industry experts, licensed operators, and college professors. Upon completion of 100 cumulative hours of virtual coursework and instruction, participants may enroll in a two-day intensive in-person course that provides 16 hours of hands-on occupational training. In-person training will be offered once per month beginning in November 2024 at locations across the state.

Anticipated locations and dates for the initial roll-out of the Cannabis Workforce Development Program include:

November 2024: Baltimore Region
December 2024: Anne Arundel County
January 2025: Southern Region
February 2025: Prince George’s County
March 2025: Eastern Region
April 2025: Western Region

“EARN promotes jobs and economic growth in Maryland, and the cannabis industry offers opportunities for entrepreneurs and career seekers,” said Maryland Department of Labor Secretary Portia Wu. “We wanted to prioritize that opportunity for residents who have been limited in the past by a prior cannabis-related conviction.”

In addition to receiving a grant award of $122,000 from EARN to jumpstart the program, the Maryland Cannabis Administration has secured partnerships with several licensed cannabis operators and two institutions of higher education with longstanding and celebrated records of innovative cannabis industry education and workforce development: Anne Arundel Community College and the University of Maryland Eastern Shore.

To learn more about the program, visit www.cannabis.maryland.gov.

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Maryland

A severe thunderstorm watch is up till 11:00 PM for Maryland

Published

9 hours ago

June 30, 2024

Press Room

A severe thunderstorm watch is up till 11:00 PM for Maryland

BALTIMORE — It is the last day of June and Mother Nature has us going out with a bang! The Storm Prediction Center has placed us under a level 2 risk for strong to severe storms in central Maryland and the eastern shore.

WMAR

A Severe Thunderstorm Watch is also up until 11:00 PM. Multiple warnings have been issued across the state so far. Once our cold front passes through storms will exit the region and temps will fall. Dry skies are expected over the next couple of days.

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