MILWAUKEE COUNTY

Milwaukee County will pay $200,000 to a woman who gave birth in jail in 2014

Alison Dirr
Milwaukee Journal Sentinel
Rebecca Terry has filed a lawsuit over conditions and treatment she endured giving birth inside the Milwaukee County Jail in 2014.

Milwaukee County will pay $200,000 to settle a federal civil rights lawsuit brought by a woman who said she gave birth in a filthy cell without medical treatment at the Milwaukee County Jail in 2014.

Rebecca Terry claims she was not given medical treatment despite her being clearly pregnant and her screams for help during a three-hour delivery. 

The lawsuit claimed she and her newborn son were taken to the hospital and that she was shackled to her hospital bed for the week that she was there after the birth. 

After she returned to the jail, the lawsuit states, she did not receive proper medical care. 

"Plaintiff has suffered and continues to suffer nightmares, flashbacks, extreme distress, fear, humiliation, sadness and anger," the complaint states. 

The case was filed in 2017.

Contact Alison Dirr at 414-224-2383 or adirr@jrn.com. Follow her on Twitter @AlisonDirr