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Saturday, Sep. 12, 2009

Woman who gave birth in jail sues Jessamine officials

NICHOLASVILLE — A woman who gave birth while in the Jessamine County Detention Center has sued the jail, Jessamine Fiscal Court and Jessamine County Judge-Executive Neal Cassity.

Ashley Mae Webb, 20, of Nicholasville gave birth to a girl on Aug. 26, 2008, while she was in jail for failure to pay a fine on a misdemeanor and a probation violation on a misdemeanor.

In a suit filed in Jessamine Circuit Court in late August, Webb alleges that the jail failed "to provide timely medical assistance or render proper aid" after notifying personnel that she was going into labor.

Cassity and Jessamine County Jailer Cecil Moss said Friday they have not seen the suit and had no comment. Webb's suit said she "suffered extreme humiliation, mental anguish and intentional infliction of emotional distress."

The suit alleges that the defendants "were deliberately indifferent" to Webb's medical needs by "refusing medical attention during her labor and birth while in the 'holdover' of the detention facility."

"This isn't something that happens every day," Moss told the Herald-Leader on the day of the birth. He had declined to identify the mother at the time, citing the woman's privacy. "We got through it OK, and they (mother and child) got through it OK."