Mom Who Went Into Labor At Cook Co. Jail Stays Free To Care For Newborn

CHICAGO, IL — A woman who went into labor while she was being held without bail at Cook County Jail last month was freed on her own recognizance Tuesday following a heated court hearing, the Chicago Sun-Times reports. In July, Karen Padilla Garcia, 26, gave birth at Stroger Hospital after going into labor while in jail, and Cook County Sheriff's Office officials worked with the Cook County State's Attorney's Office to arrange to have her released on bail so she could care for her newborn, the report stated. Judge Nicholas Ford had ordered Garcia jailed in June because she had violated her probation from a 2015 theft conviction, the report added.

During Monday's half-hour hearing, Garcia — who brought her 3-week-old daughter, Anayah — her public defender and a deputy from the state's attorney's office asked Ford to reverse his original decision concerning bond, arguing for leniency based on Garcia's lack of a violent criminal history, the report stated. The proceedings, though, became so contentious at times that Ford threatened to hold First Assistant State’s Attorney Eric Sussman in contempt of court because of interruptions, the report added.

Garcia was on probation after she pleaded guilty two years ago of stealing money from the register of the South Loop restaurant she worked at, but a warrant was issued for her arrest after she missed court dates and meetings with her probation officer, the report stated. She also racked up multiple traffic tickets and had not paid back the $1,500 she owed her former employer, and Garcia was arrested in June during a traffic stop, 18 months after the warrant was issued. (Get Patch real-time email alerts for the latest news for Chicago — or your neighborhood. And iPhone users: Check out Patch's new app.)

Because of the series of probabtion violations, Ford ordered Garcia held without bail, and if the sheriff's and state's attorney's offices hadn't stepped in, she would have been put back behind bars after giving birth to wait for her next hearing. Garcia — who believes the stress from her legal issues caused her daughter to be born a month early — told the Sun-Times after the hearing that she missed her court appearances because notices were sent to a former home address, and she didn't meet with her probation officer after the warrant was issued for fear of being arrested.

"[I]t’s not a debtor’s prison we’re running here, your honor," Sussman said in a tense exchange with the judge, according to the Sun-Times.“This woman, she gave birth in prison, she could not afford to pay [back her victim].”

Despite the fiery back and forth with lawyers, Ford reversed himself and freed Garcia on her own recognizance, the report stated. However, he blasted Garcia for her repeated court absences and for her traffic violations made while driving without a license or probation, the report added. Ford also criticized her for a TV interview over the weekend that appeared to show her driving, according to the report.

Garcia's predicament illustrates the need for changes in Cook County's bail system, which strands poor, nonviolent defendants behind bars because they don't have the money to post bond, Cara Smith, Sheriff Tom Dart's director of policy told the Sun-Times. Dart has backed the idea of eliminating cash bail as a way to curb this problem, the report added.

"When I saw [Garcia] was pregnant but had been ordered held without bond, I thought, 'She must have killed someone,' " Smith told the Sun-Times. "But it was a probation violation. For theft. For someone with no arrests for a violent offense."

More via the Chicago Sun-Times

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