LOUISVILLE, Ky. — A judge in Kentucky was furious when the local jail sent a female inmate to court without her pants and was refused “any kind of hygiene products” during her three-day stay in jail.
The woman, who was not identified, was brought into Jefferson District Court on Friday. When Judge Amber Wolf saw what she was wearing, she can be heard asking, “Is this for real?”
“No pants? What?” Wolf can be heard asking when the woman’s attorney mentioned the issue.
The woman’s attorney told the judge her client requested a jail jumpsuit. She also said jail officials “refused to give her pants and any kind of hygiene products that she needed.”
“What the hell is going on?” Wolf can be heard saying to someone on the phone. “I am holding her here until she is dressed appropriately to go back to jail. This is outrageous.”
Later in the video, Wolf asks: “Am I in the twilight zone? What is happening?”
Jail officials told WDRB the woman was wearing short athletic shorts that were completely covered by her long shirt. Steve Durham, a spokesman for the jail, said the woman had not been in custody long enough to receive a jumpsuit.
“This is pretty standard that when individuals are arrested, they remain in the clothing that they’ve been arrested in,” Durham told WDRB. “Especially for the first 72 hours.”
However, in the video, Metro Corrections Deputy Director Dwayne Clark can be seen bringing clothing to the woman and told Wolf she should have been given a jumpsuit.
“Dressed like she was, she should have been changed into a jumpsuit,” Clark said.
“I just want to tell you how incredibly sorry I am that you’ve been treated this way,” Wolf told the woman after she was given clothes. “No one deserves this, but particularly in a situation like this where you failed to complete a diversion program… and didn’t even pick up new charges.”
The woman was being held for not completing a diversion program following a 2014 shoplifting charge. She was released from jail with time served and a $100 fine.
“The fact you’re in custody is your fault ― you gotta come to court,” Wolf said. “The rest of this is completely inhumane and unacceptable, and I’m incredibly sorry you had to go through this.”
The jail is currently investigating claims that the woman and other inmates were denied hygiene products.
