Indiana judge rules pregnant inmate should stay in jail to ensure safety of unborn child

VALPARAISO, Ind. – An Indiana judge denied the release of a pregnant inmate late last month after the woman’s mother testified that her daughter’s long history of substance abuse was a threat to her unborn child.

“That baby will end up dying, I guarantee it,” Deborah Vivian testified in Porter County Superior Court on March 25, The Northwest Indiana Times reported. Vivian was testifying against her daughter, 29-year-old Alysha Ramos. Vivian said she already has custody of two of Ramos’ other children, the newspaper reported. Another child is in the custody of someone else, the newspaper reported.

Porter Superior Court Judge Jeffrey Clymer issued the order to deny Ramos’ release, according to The Associated Press.

Ramos has been incarcerated since Feb. 14, the Times reported According to court records, Ramos allegedly violated her probation by testing positive on Jan. 24 for methamphetamine use and of falling behind in paying probation user fees and clerk costs.

Vivian testified her daughter had shown little interest or concern for her children, the newspaper reported. She also said she was concerned where her daughter and children would be living if she had been released.

“She sees her children as a get-out-of-jail-free card,” Vivian told the court.

Ramos’ attorney, Mark Worthley, told the court his client has tested fine with other repeated drug tests and characterized Vivian’s claims as “family issues.”

Ramos has had legal issues since her first offense in 2008, when she was charged with driving while drunk and causing a crash that resulted in the death of 17-year-old Alisha Purnick, the Times reported.