RISE, A Modern Guide for the Purpose Driven Woman Summer 2014 | Page 43

“It is said
that no one
truly knows
a nation until one has
been inside its
jails. A nation
should not be
judged by how
it treats its
highest citizens, but its
lowest ones.”
-― Nelson Mandela

outside fighting very hard for her
“bed” there as the enrollment is
extremely limited and beyond
difficult to get. Most pregnant
inmates go into labor in jail and
make the trip to the hospital
shackled in the back of a van; in
labor…they only take you when
you’re close to delivering. She
delivered her son in good health
in February and with a transport
from Mothers & Children which
most definitely meant far more
dignity in the process and more
time after the birth with her new
baby and he with his mother.

I had the same charges. I have
a record, as does she, albeit for
very different things but in reality my record includes felonies
and I do not know that hers
actually does. I paid fines; took
a court mandated class and that
was my penalty. She got 15
months in prison; in my case
they sought a similar amount
of time initially. The difference
you ask? A paid attorney for me;
a public defender for her. Is it
justice? She and I both in similar situations; both mothers of
newborns, to whom the situation
would create great hardship.

In the first week of June, Fiona
was sentenced for her driving
while suspended and obstruction
to 15 months, state time.

The only real difference is there
was no one being paid to argue
her points, negotiate a deal or
spend any attention to her life…
because no one was being paid
She is currently at a state prison
to do so. I guess the moral quesin Florida serving that sentence
tion it should present would be
with a release date in early 2015.
is justice available in this country
She will completely miss the
to those who can’t afford it? If
entire first year of her new son’s
you’ve been reading my writing,
life. She is one of the lucky ones you will know that my answer is
as she and his father are together, a resounding YES! I am standand have a good support system
ing on top of a chair waving my
so at least her son is with her
hands jumping up and down
family.
yelling, “Yes! Yes! Yes!” Certainly to be fair, it’s only one of
I am telling you this story bcause many problems with our current

The Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), through the Uniform Crime Reporting (UCR)
Program, collects crime and arrest data from more than 18,000 city, county, and state law enforcement agencies. According to Crime in the United States, 2011 (released in November 2012), during
2011: Nationwide, law enforcement made an estimated 12,408,899 arrests (does not include citations
for traffic violations).
25.9% of arrests were of females.
13.7% of arrests of females were of persons under the age of 18.
According to the Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention’s (OJJDP’s) Juvenile Court
Statistics 2009 (released in May 2012):
Courts with juvenile jurisdiction handled an estimated 1,504,100 delinquency