Former Wash. inmate sues state for labor shackling (AP)

By RACHEL LA CORTE, Associated Press Writer Rachel La Corte, Associated Press Writer – Thu Jun 25, 10:21 pm ET

OLYMPIA, Wash. – A former Washington state prison inmate who says she was shackled during childbirth sued the state Thursday, saying her constitutional rights were violated.

Seattle-based women's rights organization Legal Voice filed the federal lawsuit against the state Department of Corrections on behalf of Casandra Brawley, who was four months pregnant when she was jailed at the Washington Corrections Center for Women near Gig Harbor in December 2006.

Brawley said she was shackled by a metal chain around her stomach during transportation to the hospital, then fastened by a leg iron to a hospital bed throughout several hours of labor.

The suit alleges her restraints were removed during an emergency cesarean section only after a physician insisted, but then were replaced after the procedure.

"Yeah, I've made some mistakes and wrong decisions," Brawley said Thursday of the shoplifting conviction that sent her to prison. "But I am still a person and I didn't feel like I should be treated like a caged animal." Read On...

FMI on rights of incarcerated women during pregnancy/labor visit: National Advocates for Pregnant Women (NAPW) or the Rebecca Project for Human Rights

Could Youth Drug Use Be Making a Comeback?

(Reclaiming Futures Blog, June 18, 2009)

Is drug use among high school-age teens about to soar? Probably, according to an analysis of historical data performed by Carnevale Associates, LLC.

The analysis, which appears in the firm’s policy brief, “Could Youth Drug Use Be Making a Comeback?,” shows that shortly after youth fear and disapproval of marijuana use diminished in the 1990s, teen marijuana use jumped over 30 percentage points between 1992 and 1997. After youth attitudes reversed, teen marijuana use dropped dramatically, falling 29 percent before bottoming out in 2006.

Read On..

Intervention Reduces Delinquent Teenage Pregancy Rates

ScienceDaily (June 3, 2009) — A program aimed at reducing criminal behavior in juvenile justice teens has yielded a surprising side benefit. The program is also reducing the teens' rate of pregnancy, according to a new study out this week.

Read More...