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“No Hope for Me”: Women Stripped of Parental Rights after Minor Crimes
Loaded on Nov. 30, 2015
by Sharona Coutts
published in Prison Legal News
December, 2015, page 26
Filed under:
Collateral consequences of prison,
Mothers in Prison,
Parental rights,
Children of Prisoners.
Location:
United States of America.
“No Hope for Me”: Women Stripped of Parental Rights after Minor Crimes
by Sharona Coutts and Zoe Greenberg, RH Reality Check
Five years ago, LaDonna Hopkins was caught stealing clothes from a store in Rock Island County, Illinois. She wasn’t stealing them to wear, but to sell …
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More from this issue:
- Aramark’s Correctional Food Services: Meals, Maggots and Misconduct, by Christopher Zoukis
- Privatized Prisoner Transportation Service Poses Problems, by David Reutter
- Obama Administration Promises Transparency but Vigorously Prosecutes Whistleblowers, by Matthew Clarke
- Idaho: FBI Declines to Press Criminal Charges against CCA for Falsified Staffing Records, by Joe Watson
- Nebraska County Corrections Officials Fired
- Wrongfully Convicted Prisoners Released as New York Prosecutors Review Tainted Cases; $23.4 Million in Settlements Thus Far, by Mark Wilson
- PLN Files Censorship Suit against Jail in Tulare County, California
- One-Continuous-Sentence Rule Governs Colorado Parole Eligibility Dates, by Mark Wilson
- Follow the Money: Invisible Investors Seek Big Bucks in Mass Incarceration, by James Kilgore
- Michigan: Former Prisoners Must Repay Lawsuit Cash Advance Company, by David Reutter
- Texas Enacts Legislation to Reduce Wrongful Convictions, by Matthew Clarke
- Massachusetts Power Struggle over Cronyism Blocks Assistant Court Clerk Hiring, by Mark Wilson
- Supermax Censorship Claimed by Prison Legal News, by Alan Prendergast
- Oregon Corrections Enterprises Whistleblower Receives $450,000 for Wrongful Termination, by Derek Gilna
- Equal Justice Initiative Files Suit Over High Levels of Violence at Alabama Prison, by Joe Watson
- Federal Court Finds Texas Violates Rights of Muslim Prisoners, by Matthew Clarke
- $451,000 Federal Jury Award for Illinois Prisoner Beaten by Jail Guard, by Matthew Clarke
- Massachusetts Supreme Court Rules Amended Sex Offender Registration Law Ex Post Facto, by Gary Hunter
- Breaking News! FCC Votes to Further Reform Prison Phone Industry, by Carrie Wilkinson
- Minnesota County Jail Pays $1 Million in Medical Neglect Case, by Lonnie Burton
- Prison Ecology, by Dashka Slater
- Lawsuit Challenges Dental Care in Michigan Prisons, by David Reutter
- Second Federal Lawsuit Filed Over Abuses at Pennsylvania County Prison, by David Reutter
- Racial Discrimination Costs Michigan DOC Over $1 Million, by David Reutter
- Miami-Dade Sex Offender Residency Ordinance Unsuccessfully Challenged, by David Reutter
- California Legislation Permitting NVDP Incarceration Held Unconstitutional, by Mark Wilson
- $350,000 Settlement in Pennsylvania Prisoner’s Suicide, by David Reutter
- Texas Prison Escapes Down Since “Texas Seven”, by Matthew Clarke
- “No Hope for Me”: Women Stripped of Parental Rights after Minor Crimes, by Sharona Coutts
- One of Two Charges Dropped against Former Texas Governor in Abuse-of-Power Case, by Matthew Clarke
- New Health Care Provider Picked for Oregon Jail after Audit Criticizes Corizon, by Mark Wilson
- Family of MCC Chicago Prisoner Settles Wrongful Death Claim for $700,000, by Derek Gilna
- Arizona Jury Awards $3.4 Million against Owner of Sex Offender Websites, by Matthew Clarke
- Sentencing Reform and Corrections Act Introduced with Broad Bipartisan Support, by Derek Gilna
- From the Editor, by Paul Wright
- News in Brief
More from Sharona Coutts:
- “No Hope for Me”: Women Stripped of Parental Rights after Minor Crimes, Nov. 30, 2015
- Women, Incarcerated, June 3, 2015
More from these topics:
- New Jersey Lawmakers Pass “Female Incarcerated Person’s Rights Protection Act”, July 1, 2026. Staff-Prisoner Assault, Guard Misconduct, Prison Rape Elimination Act, Staff Training, Mothers in Prison.
- Groundbreaking Statistical Study of Pregnant Texas Jail Detainees Finds Over 400 Monthly, April 1, 2026. Systemic Medical Neglect, OB/GYN, Failure to Treat, Mothers in Prison, Deliberate Indifference.
- Wisconsin Hasn’t Created Prison Nursery Program, One Year After Court Order, March 1, 2026. Injunctions, Mothers in Prison, Parental rights, Children of Prisoners.
- by Jo Ellen Nott I n a significant victory for the reintegration of formerly incarcerated individuals and those with arrest records, Illinois Governor JB Pritzker signed House Bill 1836, known as the “Clean Slate” Act, on January 16, 2026. The legislation, March 1, 2026. Collateral consequences of prison, State Legislation, housing, Restrictions, discrimination, Prior Convictions - Expungement or Reversal of.
- Colorado Children Sue County Jail to Fight Visitation Ban, Dec. 1, 2025. Telephone Rates, Video Visitation, Children of Prisoners, 42 U.S. Code § 1983, civil action for deprivation of rights, Private Phone Contractors.
- Wisconsin DOC Ordered to Provide Programming for Pregnant Prisoners—34 Years After Law Was Passed, Nov. 1, 2025. Gender Discrimination -- Women, Injunctions, Mothers in Prison, Statutes of Limitation and Laches, Compassionate Release.
- $340,000 for Former Massachusetts Prisoner Whose Baby Was Stillborn, July 15, 2025. Systemic Medical Neglect, Medical Neglect/Malpractice, Children of Prisoners, Parent/Child Privilege.
- First Circuit Affirms Denial of Qualified Immunity to Maine Guards who Ogled Prisoner During Childbirth, July 15, 2025. Staff-Prisoner Harassment, Qualified Immunity, Children of Prisoners.
- Kansas Supreme Court Revives Prisoner’s Challenge to Loss of Parental Rights, June 1, 2025. Parental rights, Parent/Child Privilege.
- Kentucky Jail Sued for Detainee’s Death, Prisoner’s Stillborn Child, May 1, 2025. Guard Brutality/Beatings, Medical Neglect/Malpractice, Children of Prisoners, Deliberate Indifference.

