COLUMBIA, S.C. — A former inmate whose newborn died in a prison toilet in South Carolina will receive more than $1 million from the state and two medical companies.
Sinetra Johnson will get $750,000 from the state Department of Corrections and $200,000 each from Medustrial and MedFirst which provide health care in prisons, according to a court order obtained by The State newspaper.
Johnson found out she was pregnant two days before she was sentenced to more than two years in prison for violating her parole in 2012, the newspaper reported in a previous story.
Johnson went into labor 26 weeks into her pregnancy at Camille Griffin Graham Correctional Institution where inmates with specialized medical needs are kept, according to her lawsuit.
Medical personnel never examined her fully and several hours later, she delivered her twin daughter into the prison toilet, the lawsuit said
Guards still didn’t come to help, and fellow inmates took Johnson in a wheelchair to the medical station, where she delivered her second child, a healthy son.
An autopsy determined Johnson’s daughter could have survived with immediate help.
The Corrections Department did not admit any fault. The agency also did not comment on the settlement.
