Resistance Behind Bars: The Struggles of Incarcerated Women

Attorneys representing the estate of a woman who died while pregnant in the Allegheny County Jail in January 2010 have asked a federal judge to allow them to add new allegations to their lawsuit.

On Friday, U.S. District Judge David S. Cercone denied a motion by the county and former Warden Ramon Rustin to dismiss the complaint filed by the mother of Amy Lynn Gillespie, of Cuddy, who died of pneumonia at age 27 days after being moved from the jail to UPMC Mercy Hospital.

Late Friday, attorneys Robert N. Peirce III and Elmer R. Keach III asked Judge Cercone for permission to file an amended complaint that details the days before Ms. Gillespie's death.

Judge Cercone has not yet ruled on the request to file the amended complaint.

The amended complaint said that during December 2009, the detention block in which Ms. Gillespie was housed had "little or no heat ... and the air was so cold in the housing unit that the inmates 'could see their breath.'"

It said inmates left hot water running in their cells in a desperate effort to provide warmth.

"The walls and the ceiling were leaking water and there was a strong smell of sewage coming from [Ms.Gillespie's] sink," it said. "There was black mold growing on and around her toilet and wall."

Ms. Gillespie submitted requests for medical attention, but was told that she didn't need medical help, it said.

Eventually transferred to an infirmary cell, she became too sick to leave it, the amended complaint said. "[T]he other inmates had to care for her needs and provide her with food, such as soup they had made and by attempting to clean her cell and remove mold," it said.

The lawsuit, filed in 2010, claims that Ms. Gillespie's death was caused by indifference to her medical condition, a misdiagnosis and budget-driven delays in sending her to a hospital.

A county spokeswoman declined comment, because the matter is in litigation.

Rich Lord: rlord@post-gazette.com or 412-263-1542.

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