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This case is a story of round imafter round if systematic failures that cut me to the bone. But it’s also a real condemnation of how media coverage and public perception changes when not all facts are originally known. tuscaloosathread.com/jakeisa-knox...

The original coverage of her arrest was the standard mug shot, the story of a malnourished baby who had been left all day and the probability of alleged child abuse and neglect. And the reaction was exactly as you would expect.

The announcement that she died in jail came last week with the same vitriol- a sentiment from the reporters and the audience that dying in jail was an appropriate and fitting punishment for her. Lots of comments saying those exact words.

But when this last story published - one that included all the court records this time as well as contact with her family, it all changed. She was finally seen as a victim, too, held without bond in a prison with no medical facility when she was just months from birth.

Last year Alabama had a law introduced that would allow pregnant women to defer prison until after birth. I was iffy on it - I was worried it could be used to track and criminalize miscarriages. But now I’m 100% in favor. Birth in prison is just too dangerous.