Lawyer decries jailing of nursing mothers, pregnant woman

A private legal practitioner, Mr Selorm Darbi, has expressed concern over the incarceration of two nursing mothers and a pregnant woman at the Ho Central Prison, describing the situation as unfortunate and avoidable.
He said the courts must strictly adhere to legal provisions that discourage the imprisonment of nursing mothers and pregnant women, stressing that their babies and unborn child had committed no crime and should not suffer the consequences of their mothers’ offences.
The three were discovered at the female ward of the Ho Central Prison when the 2000 Year Group of Mawuli School donated assorted items to inmates over the weekend.
The items included yam, rice, gari, milk, biscuits, sachet water, toilet rolls, and sugar.
Mr Darbi explained that the law provided alternative remedies such as fines or suspended sentences in such situations and urged the courts to apply them.
He said sending nursing mothers and pregnant women to prison was dehumanising and called for conscious efforts to stop the practice.
Presenting the items, the President of the 2000 Year Group, Mr Divine Akuaku, indicated that the gesture formed part of activities marking the group’s 25th anniversary, aimed at supporting the less privileged.
Receiving the items, Chief Superintendent Millicent Okity, Officer in Charge of the Female Ward, thanked the group for the support and urged others to emulate the gesture.
The female ward currently houses 10 convicted women, five on remand, and one on trial.
FROM SAMUEL AGBEWODE, HO
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