News & Commentary

Melissa was pregnant at the time of her arrest in 2006; she gave birth in shackles. Melissa was in shackles two days prior to giving birth to her son. As she delivered her baby, her wrists were handcuffed to the bed, a leg iron chained her to the stirrups, and a male sheriff deputy sat in the room, watching TV, as Melissa wailed in pain. This is just one of many stories of incarcerated women in Illinois who have suffered the harm and indignity of giving birth in chains.

Equip for Equality, a disability rights group based in Chicago, and partner in the case of Ligas v. Hamos, produced an inspiring and heartwarming short video about the named plaintiffs in the case. The video touches on each of the plaintiff's personal stories, and the challenges they faced in order to protect their civil liberties, to fight for their right to live independently, and not be forced to live in institutions because of their disabilities.

Leonard Pitts' syndicated column appeared in The Chicago Tribune about the use of cameras to record police activity in light of the November 18 UC Davis incident, where a police officer doused seated occupy protesters with liberal amounts of pepper spray. He poses the question: what if there had been no cameras to record the incident?

###

Cath