When authorities put
Tammy Jackson in jail, they knew she was several months pregnant. But when she finally gave birth in April, jail employees and medical staff were nowhere to be found.
Sign to demand that the Broward County Sheriff's Office fire the officers who put the lives of Tammy Jackson and her newborn baby at risk.On the morning of April 10, 2019, Ms. Jackson began to feel painful contractions. The 35-year-old knew she would be giving birth soon. But as she screamed for help, her calls went unanswered.
Instead, she was forced to go through a horrifying and excruciating childbirth by herself. She only received help, 7 hours after she had originally alerted guards. And by the time doctors and jail employees arrived, they found her bleeding and holding her baby in her arms.
According to Tammy's lawyers,
Ms. Jackson suffers from mental illness. The trauma of having to give birth to her child with no assistance has left her in an even more fragile mental state. This and the fact that a recent CDC study has shown that
black women are three to four times more likely than white women to die from childbirth complications makes this story even more galling.
The Broward County Sheriff's office failed Ms. Jackson and put both her and her baby's life at risk.
To date, there have been no consequences for the employees who turned their backs on her and forced her to go through the indignity of giving birth on a jailhouse floor.This is unacceptable. The sheriff's office must fire the careless employees that ignored Tammy's cries. There is no excuse for this type of negligence. Sign if you agree.