Woman shoots dead another woman during Uber ride (NY POST)
At what stage is a fetus considered a living person and what are his rights?
This debate was at the center of the abortion storm that swept the United States a few months ago - but now it is re-emerging in a completely different context.
A pregnant Florida woman accused of fatally shooting a mother of three during an Uber ride last year is demanding she be released from prison — because her unborn child committed no crime.
In an unusual legal argument, the lawyers of 24-year-old Natalia Harrell filed a motion on behalf of her daughter, arguing that there is no reason to keep him behind bars without being charged with a crime.
"The state has placed the unborn child in an inherently dangerous environment, in close proximity to violent criminals," reads the request for release as part of the habeas corpus petition, which allows any imprisoned person to demand to appear before a judge to discuss the legality of his arrest.
The New York Post reported that the lawyers claim that the fetus is receiving inadequate prenatal care and is being illegally imprisoned.
They demand that the fetus be released from custody pending trial - which of course will also release his mother-to-be, who is charged with second-degree murder and detained pending trial without the possibility of bail.
Pregnant woman in Uber killing argues to be freed because fetus is innocent — as video shows fatal shooting https://t.co/hOyEaBpcLY pic.twitter.com/vlCk6RN6qC
— New York Post (@nypost) February 20, 2023
A new video released last week showed the moment she shot and fatally wounded Yvette Borcella inside the Uber they were riding in with five other people after a night of partying in Miami last July.
Harrell's lawyer, William Norris, claims that his wife shot Borzella, 28, because she lunged at her during the argument and she feared for the safety of her fetus.
Harrell said she was with a group of men at a nightclub in South Beach who asked her if she knew anyone who wanted to join their group.
Borcella was invited, but soon annoyed the Earl after she began "drinking and dancing" excessively in what she considered to be.
At one point, she asked one of her friends to "take over her girl."
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She was shot in the stomach - and died in the hospital.
Borcela (Photo: screenshot, Facebook / Gladys Yvette Borcela)
In the published video, it appears that the two began arguing in the back seat of the vehicle after the group left the nightclub around two in the morning.
Harrell climbed into the middle row of the vehicle at one point, with the Uber driver watching the chaos unfold in his rearview mirror.
Borcella is seen reaching out to Harle, who in response shoots her once in the stomach.
The Uber driver immediately stopped the vehicle and everyone ran away from it, except for Borcella.
She was taken to a hospital where she was pronounced dead.
Borcella's mother, Yvette Rivera, strongly opposes Harrell's demand.
"Natalia Harrell killed my daughter," she wrote on Facebook.
"And now he's trying to get a get out of jail free ticket. Where is the justice in Miami? I will not fall or fail until this is resolved!"
This is how it looks on Uber (hard to see)
Watch the latest video at foxnews.com
The habeas corpus petition, which was filed last Thursday, claims that the detention center employees failed and even refused to provide adequate medical care or take Harrell to her scheduled medical appointments and she claims she has not seen an obstetrician-gynecologist since October.
In addition, it was alleged that the prison staff failed to provide Harrell with vitamins, fluids and food that doctors advised would help her fetus develop.
"In the absence of immediate release of the unborn child, he will most likely be brought into this world on the concrete floor of the prison cell, without the assistance of qualified doctors, and in the presence of violent criminals," the demand for "habeas corpus" reads.
Mark Scheiner, a veteran criminal defense attorney from Florida, explained to Fox News Digital that the habeas corpus process "basically says, 'You are illegally detaining my client.'"
He described how Florida and federal law dictate that unborn fetuses must be recognized as legal victims — when they are affected by several different types of crimes, even before a trial.
"We do identify, in many situations, unborn fetuses as victims," Shiner said.
"So, if they are a victim for criminal purposes, why aren't they criminals for punishment purposes - when the mother is imprisoned who has not even been found guilty yet? She is considered innocent."
Will she be released from prison?
Harrell (photo: screenshot, Miami Dade Corrections)
In response to her attorneys' claims, Miami-Dade Prisons and Rehabilitation Director James Rice responded that Harrell's first pregnancy test conducted in prison - July 26, 2022 - was negative.
He said Harle eventually found out she was pregnant only on August 12.
Rice and the state argued that Black's application should be thrown out entirely because it lacks basic data.
According to prison management records, Harel weighed 48 kg on August 22, 2022, compared to the 63 kg she weighed on February 16, 2023, and has a history of refusing or refusing medical treatment.
"The petitioner was taken to at least four appointments with midwives outside the prison and refused to attend the fifth," the response reads, "she was offered prenatal vitamins on a daily basis for months. She refused to receive vitamins and nutritional supplements during pregnancy more than once, most recently on January 16, 2023 and refused Allow nurses and medical personnel to measure the fetal heart rate."
They claim she has had at least 11 medical visits since August 2022, the last of which was inside the prison on February 17.
The echo editors on behalf of the prison authorities wrote that Harrell will be transferred to the clinic as soon as she reaches the 36th week of her pregnancy and from there she will be transferred to the hospital to give birth to the baby.
The state wrote that its past requests for release included only "scant" details regarding allegedly failed medical treatment.
The state attorneys argued that the petition should be rejected because it "is not available as a substitute for other legal proceedings." , the state wrote in its response.
Instead, "her lawsuit refers solely to the alleged inadequacy of prenatal medical care. Since the lawsuit has no legal implications on the legality of the petitioner's arrest, habeas corpus is not a proper tool for the petitioner's lawsuit."
Lauren Parra, a spokeswoman for Miami-Dade County Mayor Danielle Levine Cava, said the jail system "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 timely, professional medical care and all appropriate and necessary care." ".
She added: "We conduct a full review of the health services offered to ensure that any prenatal care provided in our custody is appropriate."
Should the fetus (and the mother?) be released?
Yes.
He is without wealth
No.
She takes advantage of him
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This is not the first time that the concept of habeas corpus has been raised in relation to pregnant defendants.
In 2018, Brazil's Supreme Court ruled that all pregnant defendants should be granted habeas corpus and allowed to await trial at home.
Attorney Norris argued that even if the fetus does not know this, Harrell is entitled to constitutional rights. "The fetus has developed eyes and arms and may be born next month," the petition states. "However, without proper treatment, there is a fear that the fetus will be harmed before or during birth.
" The unborn child is imprisoned without any consideration of his rights," Norris said. "Our interest is in the health of the unborn child, and at this point, it is a gamble.
We don't know what the health of the unborn child is at this stage, because months have passed without prenatal care."
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