Birth at jail, death of baby show need for criminal justice reforms

While serving as a Florida state representative, Clovis Watson Jr. joined his fellow lawmakers in unanimously approving the Tammy Jackson Act in 2020. Named after a woman who gave birth in a Broward County jail cell, the law was meant to prevent such circumstances from happening again.

Watson was elected Alachua County sheriff last fall and now faces a tragically similar situation that happened in the Alachua County Jail, which the sheriff’s office runs. On Aug. 9, Erica Thompson gave birth in the jail infirmary. The premature baby, Ava, died later at UF Health Shands Hospital.

Thompson has criticized jail staff for failing to take her to the hospital earlier, after she first said she was having contractions. The Alachua County Sheriff’s Office held an Aug. 20 news conference to release images taken at the jail, using them to show that Thompson didn't appear to be in distress or having contractions when she was booked into the jail.

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The case is a test for Watson and his commitment to criminal justice reform. He supported reform bills as a Democratic lawmaker, but those measures often failed to pass in the Republican-controlled Legislature. Watson ran on his legislative record in getting elected as sheriff and now has the authority to make changes on the local level.  

But as protests have been held in Gainesville over Thompson’s treatment and the death of her child, Watson has been conspicuously absent from public view. He didn’t attend the Aug. 20 news conference, leaving it to other ASO officials to refute Thompson’s account and defend the actions taken with Thompson.

The evidence released so far does present a different picture than what happened to Tammy Jackson, who went through seven hours of labor and delivery in an isolation cell while her cries for help were ignored. But that doesn’t absolve ASO from wrongdoing or reduce the need for reforms.

Already the COVID-19 pandemic has raised questions about jailing inmates before trial for low-level offenses because they can't afford bail, keeping them in an environment where they could be exposed to the potentially deadly virus. The jailing of pregnant women also needs review beyond what the Tammy Jackson Act requires. 

The act includes requirements that pregnant inmates be checked hourly by correctional officers and receive daily medical observations. In Thompson’s case, ASO reports she was evaluated by a nurse when booked into the jail on a probation violation on the morning of Aug. 9 and put on 15-minute checks while in a cell in the jail infirmary that afternoon. 

ASO reported that the first time Thompson asked for help was 10:20 p.m., but she said she was screaming for help earlier. The birth, which was about two to three months early, happened about 10:54 p.m. EMS didn’t arrive until a few minutes later. 

Further scrutiny is needed of Corizon Health, the company contracted by ASO to provide medical care at the jail. Corizon has faced past criticism over cost-cutting measures in inmate treatment when the company was contracted to provide health care in Florida prisons.

But Watson is ultimately accountable for what happens at the jail, whether ASO deputies or contracted staff are involved. The sheriff needs to reevaluate jail practices and show his commitment to criminal justice reform isn’t just an empty campaign promise.

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