Victory for Latice Fisher in Mississippi
In Mississippi, Latice Fisher was charged with second degree murder after she experienced a pregnancy loss at home. She reached out to Pregnancy Justice directly asking for help, and we responded immediately. We quickly joined forces with Laurie Bertram Roberts of the Mississippi Reproductive Freedom Fund and Color of Change to help get Ms. Fisher’s bail lowered and released from jail and to put pressure on the prosecutor, Scott Colom, to drop the charge. As a result of an intensive strategy of direct outreach to and education of the prosecutor he decided to nolle prosequi the case and dismiss the murder charge.
Nevertheless, in March of 2020, DA Colom re-presented the case before a new grand jury. But this time, he provided the jury with the accurate scientific information we made available to him. As a result, the grand jury “no billed” the matter. This means that Ms. Fisher no longer faces any criminal charges related to her stillbirth or alleged research about the abortion medication misoprostol. Her case provided the basis for significant public education about criminalization of pregnancy losses, reproductive justice, as well as the work needed to ensure that “progressive” prosecutors, including Scott Colom, keep their word once elected.