It's legal in Kentucky to shackle pregnant prisoners during labor, but maybe not for long

It is technically legal in Kentucky to shackle pregnant, incarcerated women while they are giving birth, but a state senator from Louisville wants to change that this year.

"In Kentucky and in most places in this country, women are entering prisons programmed for men," Republican state Sen. Julie Raque Adams told a crowd at the Kentucky Capitol on Tuesday.

"There is little consideration for pregnant women and incarcerated mothers, and Kentucky is one of a majority of states that still allows for the shackling of pregnant women even while they're giving birth," she said. "Under my bill, this practice will stop."

Adams' legislation, Senate Bill 133, would prohibit inmates from being shackled or otherwise restrained during labor.

Government officials say the state already has an administrative policy forbidding the shackling of women during labor, but no Kentucky law bans it.

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Kentucky Justice Secretary John Tilley told Courier Journal "we need to explicitly prohibit it, period."

Outlawing the restraint of women while they're in labor would apply not only to people housed in state prisons but also to those housed in county jails, where Tilley said 70 percent of female state inmates are held.

Adams' bill, which Gov. Matt Bevin supports, also would require the staff of local jails and state prisons to restrain a pregnant woman solely with handcuffs locked in front of her body unless further measures are necessary for her own protection or the protection of others.

It appears most, if not all, Kentucky counties do not permit restraining an inmate while she gives birth, according to Christie Dutton, public affairs director for the Kentucky Association of Counties. However, Dutton said pregnant women in county jails may be shackled while being taken to a hospital for medical appointments and procedures.

The association's list of best practices for county jails already recommends against restraining a woman during labor unless it's necessary due to a serious threat of harm to the inmate herself, to a staff member or to someone else.

SB 133 includes other provisions meant to help incarcerated women in Kentucky, too. It would allow pregnant women charged or convicted of certain crimes to be released from custody if they meet specific requirements, such as completing substance-abuse treatment.

The bill also says jails must provide adequate nutrition for pregnant inmates and offer appropriate amounts of hygiene products and undergarments for all female prisoners.

The number of women behind bars in Kentucky is rising, as is the state's total prison population.

The commonwealth has the nation's second-highest incarceration rate for women and the ninth-highest overall incarceration rate, according to Kentucky Smart on Crime, a coalition that supports common-sense criminal justice reforms. The state's prison population is projected to grow by 19 percent over the next decade, costing taxpayers over $600 million in additional expenses, unless the Legislature takes significant action.

Tilley said Tuesday that reducing the number of people in the state's prisons can free up more money for police officers, who need better funding for their equipment, cruisers and anti-crime programs.

"There's only so much in the public safety pie," he said. "But when you siphon resources and allow corrections to gobble up every bit of the public safety dollar, you cripple what men and women in law enforcement need to do to protect us."

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A bill legislators are introducing this week in the state House of Representatives will include a broad range of criminal justice reforms, including provisions that would raise the threshold for felony-level theft from $500 to $2,000, reclassify certain drug possession convictions as misdemeanors and streamline the parole process for low-level, nonviolent inmates.

State Rep. Jason Nemes, R-Louisville, said the legislation — which promotes the recommendations of a work group Bevin established last year — is meant to help people whose addictions land them behind bars.

"Our families in Kentucky are destroyed by drugs. We have too many kids being raised by Grandma and Grandpa," he said. "This bill is designed to reverse that."

Morgan Watkins: 502-582-4502; mwatkins@courierjournal.com; Twitter: @morganwatkins26. Support strong local journalism by subscribing today: www.courier-journal.com/morganw.

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