Mom Sues After She Was Forced to Give Birth to Doomed Baby in “Georgia’s Toughest Para-Military Jail”
By Chuck Sharman
On September 2, 2022, the federal court for the Northern District of Georgia accepted an amended complaint from a former detainee in the Clayton County Jail who spent 13 hours in labor there because jailers allegedly thought her infant would be stillborn. Only when Tiana Hill finally gave birth did they relent and take her to a hospital, where the baby died four days later, on January 3, 2020.
When Hill was booked into the jail in September 2019, jailers noted she was pregnant. Yet they never granted her request for prenatal care, according to a complaint she later filed. When she went into labor on December 29, 2019, she made a trip to the infirmary and “pleaded with the jail to be sent to a hospital,” her suit recalled. However, “she was kept in the jail infirmary,” the lawsuit continued, until the next day. Why? “The jail suspected Ms. Hill had a miscarriage,” her suit concludes.
The suit was filed in the Court on December 28, 2021, accusing the county, its Board of Commissioners and Sheriff Victor Hill – who is no relation to Plaintiff – of civil rights and state law violations. The suit also named jail health care provider CorrectHealth Clayton, LLC, and its Dr. Charles Clopton, along with other “Doe” defendants.
The county defendants moved to dismiss the case, and the Court granted the motion on August 10, 2022, calling Hill’s complaint a “shotgun” pleading that failed to tie its counts to specific defendants. See: Hill v. Clayton Cty., 2022 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 142903 (N.D. Ga.).
But the dismissal was granted without prejudice, giving Hill 14 days to file an amended complaint. That filing was timely made on August 24, 2022, and PLN will report updates as they are available. Hill is represented in her lawsuit by attorney Mitchell Le’roux Albert III of Albert III & Associates, LLC in Atlanta. See: Hill v. Clayton Cty., USDC (N.D. Ga.), Case No. 1:21-cv-05300.
Meanwhile Sheriff Hill, 56, who once boasted he ran “Georgia’s toughest para-military jail,” is facing federal charges he used a restraint chair to punish at least four detainees, in violation of their Fourteenth Amendment rights. He pleaded not guilty to the charges after his arrest in April 2021, at which time Gov. Brian Kemp (R) appointed a panel to review the indictment. Based on its recommendation, Kemp then suspended Hill in June 2021. The former Sheriff’s trial is scheduled to begin on October 12, 2022; again, PLN will report updates as they are available. See: United States v. Hill, USDC (N.D. Ga.), Case No. 1:21-cr-00143.
Additional sources: Atlanta Journal-Constitution, Clayton Crescent, WANF
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Related legal cases
Hill v. Clayton Cty.
| Year | 2022 |
|---|---|
| Cite | 2022 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 142903 (N.D. Ga.) |
| Level | District Court |
| Conclusion | Bench Verdict |
Hill v. Clayton Cty.
| Year | 2022 |
|---|---|
| Cite | 2022 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 142903 (N.D. Ga.) |
| Level | District Court |
| Conclusion | Bench Verdict |
United States v. Hill
| Year | 2022 |
|---|---|
| Cite | USDC (N.D. Ga.), Case No. 1:21-cr-00143 |
| Level | District Court |
| Conclusion | Bench Verdict |