Kelsey Love, eight months pregnant in the Franklin County Regional Jail in Kentucky, was found lying naked on her jail cell floor, holding her belly, crying. Deputies notified an on-call nurse but did not report a medical emergency, records show. Hours later, a nurse and deputy found Love wedged inside her sleeping mat, blood smeared across the floor, walls and door.
She had given birth, scooped mucus from the baby’s mouth, bit through the umbilical cord, then crawled into the mat to keep him warm. Her son, named Xayden, survived.
Horrific scenes like this are unfolding in jails across the country, according to a yearlong investigation from Bloomberg Law and NBC News that reveals systemic failures. A first-of-its-kind analysis of federal civil rights lawsuits from 2017 to 2024 found at least 54 pregnant women or their families alleging severe mistreatment or medical neglect. These women, often locked up for petty crimes, have their cries for help ignored as they miscarry or give birth in excruciating pain into cell toilets or onto filthy jail floors. The consequences are dire: newborns suffer infections and long-lasting health issues, and some babies tragically die.
In Kentucky, a woman chewed through her umbilical cord after she gave birth alone on a dank county jail floor. In Georgia, a woman said she begged for 13 hours to be taken to the hospital before delivering her son in her cell; he died four days later. In Louisiana, a woman said she gave birth on a toilet after a jail nurse told her to “shut the f--- up. Go back to your corner.” In Mississippi, a woman died of a ruptured ectopic pregnancy after complaining for days about abdominal pain. In California, a correctional officer stopped at a Starbucks while driving a woman in premature labor to the hospital, she said. The baby died.
Why aren’t the jail staff held criminally responsible? Why does there only seem to be civil action resulting in monetary awards that taxpayers are responsible for with little to no consequences or accountability for those that are directly responsible for these circumstances and tragedies? I wonder if someone in the legal community could shed some light on this or maybe there is no clear response?
nbcnews on November 20th, 2025 at 17:55 UTC »
TW: perinatal, infant loss
Kelsey Love, eight months pregnant in the Franklin County Regional Jail in Kentucky, was found lying naked on her jail cell floor, holding her belly, crying. Deputies notified an on-call nurse but did not report a medical emergency, records show. Hours later, a nurse and deputy found Love wedged inside her sleeping mat, blood smeared across the floor, walls and door.
She had given birth, scooped mucus from the baby’s mouth, bit through the umbilical cord, then crawled into the mat to keep him warm. Her son, named Xayden, survived.
Horrific scenes like this are unfolding in jails across the country, according to a yearlong investigation from Bloomberg Law and NBC News that reveals systemic failures. A first-of-its-kind analysis of federal civil rights lawsuits from 2017 to 2024 found at least 54 pregnant women or their families alleging severe mistreatment or medical neglect. These women, often locked up for petty crimes, have their cries for help ignored as they miscarry or give birth in excruciating pain into cell toilets or onto filthy jail floors. The consequences are dire: newborns suffer infections and long-lasting health issues, and some babies tragically die.
In Kentucky, a woman chewed through her umbilical cord after she gave birth alone on a dank county jail floor. In Georgia, a woman said she begged for 13 hours to be taken to the hospital before delivering her son in her cell; he died four days later. In Louisiana, a woman said she gave birth on a toilet after a jail nurse told her to “shut the f--- up. Go back to your corner.” In Mississippi, a woman died of a ruptured ectopic pregnancy after complaining for days about abdominal pain. In California, a correctional officer stopped at a Starbucks while driving a woman in premature labor to the hospital, she said. The baby died.Read the full investigation here.
ZombieWho117 on November 20th, 2025 at 18:02 UTC »
This is severely fucked up
soihavethatgoinforme on November 20th, 2025 at 18:34 UTC »
Why aren’t the jail staff held criminally responsible? Why does there only seem to be civil action resulting in monetary awards that taxpayers are responsible for with little to no consequences or accountability for those that are directly responsible for these circumstances and tragedies? I wonder if someone in the legal community could shed some light on this or maybe there is no clear response?