The Court of Appeal has quashed a heavily pregnant woman’s prison sentence so she can give birth safely, in a case seen as a landmark case by campaigners.
The woman, 22, is almost eight months pregnant and has been diagnosed with potentially life-threatening preeclampsia, which affects the mother’s blood vessels and the baby’s blood supply.
The woman was sentenced to five years for possession of a firearm and ammunition and served two and a half years in prison. She only discovered she was pregnant when she was given a routine pregnancy test upon arrival at the prison.
Campaigners have previously argued that pregnant women should not be housed in prison. In September 2019, a newborn baby, Aisha Cleary, was found dead in a prison cell at HMP Bronzefield after her mother, Rianna, gave birth alone. According to government data, there were 44 births by women in custody in 2022-2023, 98% of which were in hospital.
Pippa Woodrow, counsel for the pregnant woman, told a hearing at the Court of Appeal on Thursday that the risk of the woman giving birth prematurely was “alive” and that the management of her pregnancy in prison “does not even appear to meet the requirements’. of her condition”.
She added that the woman had “a significant history of trauma and mental health issues” and that she was “immature and vulnerable”.
Regarding her crime, Woodrow said, “She does not have an ongoing relationship with the negative peers who got her into this mess.”
In an oral judgment, Lord Justice Holroyde, the vice-president of the Criminal Division of the Court of Appeal, joined by Mr Justice Garnham and Mr Justice Andrew Baker, said: “We consider this to be a quite exceptional case.”
The judges overturned the sentence she had received from the criminal court and replaced it with a suspended sentence of two years with a rehabilitation requirement.
Holroyde addressed the woman, who listened with tears to the judges’ ruling via a video link in prison: “This is a quite exceptional course that the court is taking. We do this because of the exceptional characteristics of your case.”
The woman’s mother, who was present in court for the verdict, said afterwards: “I have my daughter back. Thank you so much. She’s a good girl, but she got involved with the wrong person. Now she can give birth in the hospital with me by her side and we can raise this baby together.”
The mother feared her daughter would suffer a similar fate to Rianna Cleary if she gave birth in prison. She contacted Level Up, which campaigns for an end to the imprisonment of pregnant women, to offer help and support.
Janey Starling, co-director of Level Up, said: “This landmark judgment marks a major change in criminal practice. Several other countries do not detain pregnant women or new mothers and the English courts are starting to catch up. Prison will never be a safe place to be pregnant.
“The Prison Ombudsman, the Ministry of Justice and the NHS have classified all prison pregnancies as high risk. This means that when a judge sentences a pregnant woman to prison, she is sentencing her to a high-risk pregnancy. That is unconscionable.”
A Ministry of Justice spokesperson said: “Detention is always the last resort for women, and independent judges take into account mitigating factors such as pregnancy when making sentencing decisions.
“We have made meaningful progress in improving the care available to pregnant women in prison, such as employing specialist mother and baby liaison officers in every women’s prison, and improving welfare checks and support for social services.”