A woman charged with murder in Miami-Dade is pregnant and a motion has been filed on behalf of her child to have the inmate’s unborn baby released from custody. A court hearing is scheduled for March 7.
The emergency motion was filed last week on behalf of the unborn child of Natalia Harrell, 24, who was arrested last July for second-degree murder.
“An unborn child is a person,” said attorney William Norris, who is representing the unborn child. “A person has constitutional rights and one of them is the right not to be deprived of liberty without due process.”
The unusual request claims the unborn child, who spent about eight months in the womb, received inadequate prenatal care while Harrell was being held without bond, NBC 6 reported.
“I am affirming the right of someone who was not considered in the decision to put his mother in jail,” Harris said.
Lawyers for the unborn child claim the Miami-Dade Corrections Department did not allow Harrell to attend a medical appointment at a local hospital, saying his last visit to an OB/GYN was in October. 2022.
Miami-Dade Department of Corrections officials released a statement regarding the petition. “The Miami-Dade County Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation partners with the Jackson Health System to provide medical care to inmates in our custody, and we are committed to ensuring that all inmates receive professional medical care. and timely and all appropriate treatment”, read the part of the statement.
“We conduct a comprehensive review of health services offered and received to ensure that all prenatal care provided in our care is appropriate.”
The attorneys’ motion says the unborn baby has not been charged with any crime and his due process rights are being violated because he is a person under the Florida Constitution. It is requested that the unborn baby be released immediately.
Harrell was arrested after police said she shot and killed another woman while riding in an Uber in Miami last July.
Police say Harrell and the other woman, Gladys Yvette Borcela, 28, were involved in an argument until Harrell shot Borcela.
According to a bail motion filed by Harrell last month, Harrell said Borcela assaulted her and feared for her life and that of her unborn child when he fired the fatal shot.
The motion says Harrell is seeking to have the case dismissed under Florida’s “Stand Your Ground” law.
On this case, new images of the shooting inside the Uber have been released. The video shows two women arguing, then a gunshot is heard.