Sterilization of defendants in connection with plea deals is unacceptable, says DA
Pressuring a defendant in a criminal case to get sterilized is quite unusual.
But it does happen, reports the Tennessean in a lengthy article about the case of one mentally ill woman in Nashville.
In Jasmine Randers’ case, her public defender went to the Davidson County district attorney. The result was a new policy.
“I have let my office know that that is not an appropriate condition of a plea,” DA Glenn Funk told the newspaper. “It is now policy that sterilization will never be a condition of deal-making in the district attorney’s office.”
For more details about Randers’ case, read the full story in the Tennessean.
See also:
Associated Press: “Attorneys: Sterilizations were part of Nashville plea-deal talks “
Associated Press: “Cases where sterilization was part of plea negotiations”
Slate: “Nashville Prosecutors Reportedly Offered Women Plea Bargains in Exchange For Sterilization”
