Twenty-five-year-old Deshawn Balka (pictured) is suing both Clayton County, Ga., and Sheriff Kem Kimbrough for allegedly taking inadequate care of her baby after she prematurely gave birth to her son, who later died, according to the Atlanta Journal-Constitution.
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In April, Balka was arrested for violating probation on a marijuana possession sentence. At the time, Balka was five months pregnant. As she stayed in the Clayton County jail, she began to experience contractions, and reportedly called out for help in vain.
Three hours later, Balka was in full labor, delivering her son in to the jail toilet.
According to Balka, even after the child was born, it still took between five to 10 minutes for jail staff to assist her.
As a result, Balka’s baby died, and she is still mourning the loss of what would have been her first child. She told Channel 2, “I wish and I pray that I would have gotten the care that I requested.”
According to Balka’s family, the Mother-to-be should NOT have been arrested in the first place. Prior to being locked up, Balka reportedly informed her probation officer that she would not be able to attend her probation check-in, because she had to go to the hospital.
Unfortunately, a warrant was put out for Balka’s arrest anyway, and she was soon arrested for violating probation. Even though the warrant was later dismissed, obviously, Balka will never be able to get her child back.
Still, Sheriff Kimbrough maintains that it isn’t his fault that Balka’s baby died in the jail. “My records show that she saw a physician two days before this incident.”
What a shame.
