PASSAGE OF THE DAY: "Here’s Pregnancy Justice Legal Director Karen Thompson on the case: “There’s no rulebook for pregnancy loss, and we do know that Amari did nothing wrong and never should have been charged. The state’s justification of its charge—that Amari waited a whole 10 minutes to call 911—underscores the fact that being pregnant in America is in and of itself a reason for suspicion, especially if you’re Black. Our country has a long history of controlling Black bodies, and it seems hellbent on continuing this deeply disturbing tradition through the criminalization of pregnancy outcomes.” What’s also important to remember is that even though these charges were dropped, it doesn’t mean that there wasn’t incredible harm done. Marsh says that while she’s relieved the case is over, “they will never fully understand what they put me through.” “While facing a murder charge and the possibility of decades in prison, I still had to process my pregnancy loss. I’m now working to rebuild my life through counseling, and I’m back in school.”
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POST: 'Criminalizing Pregnancy' by Jessica Valenti, published by 'Abortion, Every Day, one September 16, 2024.
GIST: "I hate to hit you with one horror story after another, but I figured better to rip the bandaid off at the top of the newsletter. A 22 year-old college students was charged with “homicide by child abuse” in South Carolina after suffering a miscarriage. Thankfully, a grand jury declined to pursue charges against the student last week, but this is just another example of the kind of criminalization nightmare we can expect to see again and again.
In fact, Amari Marsh’s story sounds strikingly similar to Brittany Watts’—the Ohio woman who was charged with ‘abuse of a corpse’ after flushing her miscarriage. In Marsh’s case, she was several months into her pregnancy when she had a miscarriage. Even though Marsh called 911 for help, local news outlets reported that the young woman “gave birth” into her toilet and covered the fetus with toilet paper. Like Watts, Marsh is also Black; we know that Black women are much more likely to be criminalized for their pregnancy outcomes.
Here’s Pregnancy Justice Legal Director Karen Thompson on the case:
“There’s no rulebook for pregnancy loss, and we do know that Amari did nothing wrong and never should have been charged. The state’s justification of its charge—that Amari waited a whole 10 minutes to call 911—underscores the fact that being pregnant in America is in and of itself a reason for suspicion, especially if you’re Black. Our country has a long history of controlling Black bodies, and it seems hellbent on continuing this deeply disturbing tradition through the criminalization of pregnancy outcomes.”
What’s also important to remember is that even though these charges were dropped, it doesn’t mean that there wasn’t incredible harm done. Marsh says that while she’s relieved the case is over, “they will never fully understand what they put me through.”
“While facing a murder charge and the possibility of decades in prison, I still had to process my pregnancy loss. I’m now working to rebuild my life through counseling, and I’m back in school.”
To show some support to Marsh, consider donating to her GoFundMe here. And for more on criminalization, read Abortion, Every Day’s coverage of the issue here and here.
The entire post can be read at:
https://mail.google.com/mail/u/0/#inbox/FMfcgzQXJGlhsQrZPxwfwGRbPqZxRhhV
PUBLISHER'S NOTE: I am monitoring this case/issue/resource. Keep your eye on the Charles Smith Blog for reports on developments. The Toronto Star, my previous employer for more than twenty incredible years, has put considerable effort into exposing the harm caused by Dr. Charles Smith and his protectors - and into pushing for reform of Ontario's forensic pediatric pathology system. The Star has a "topic" section which focuses on recent stories related to Dr. Charles Smith. It can be found at: http://www.thestar.com/topic/charlessmith. Information on "The Charles Smith Blog Award"- and its nomination process - can be found at: http://smithforensic.blogspot.com/2011/05/charles-smith-blog-award-nominations.html Please send any comments or information on other cases and issues of interest to the readers of this blog to: hlevy15@gmail.com. Harold Levy: Publisher: The Charles Smith Blog.
- SEE BREAKDOWN OF SOME OF THE ON-GOING INTERNATIONAL CASES (OUTSIDE OF THE CONTINENTAL USA) THAT I AM FOLLOWING ON THIS BLOG, AT THE LINK BELOW: HL:
https://www.blogger.com/blog/post/edit/120008354894645705/4704913685758792985
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FINAL WORD: (Applicable to all of our wrongful conviction cases): "Whenever there is a wrongful conviction, it exposes errors in our criminal legal system, and we hope that this case — and lessons from it — can prevent future injustices."
Lawyer Radha Natarajan:
Executive Director: New England Innocence Project;
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FINAL, FINAL WORD: "Since its inception, the Innocence Project has pushed the criminal legal system to confront and correct the laws and policies that cause and contribute to wrongful convictions. They never shied away from the hard cases — the ones involving eyewitness identifications, confessions, and bite marks. Instead, in the course of presenting scientific evidence of innocence, they've exposed the unreliability of evidence that was, for centuries, deemed untouchable." So true!
Christina Swarns: Executive Director: The Innocence Project;
