CHARLOTTE, N.C. (AP) - A federal judge in North Carolina has released an inmate who is eight months pregnant from a jail that has seen dozens of coronavirus cases.
The Charlotte Observer reported Tuesday that the woman’s lawyer had asked U.S. Magistrate Judge David Keesler to release her because of an outbreak in the Mecklenburg County Jail.
Cowick was among a group of federal inmates who asked the courts to reconsider their detention after four dozen Mecklenburg inmates tested positive for COVID-19.
Brittany Cowick left the jail last week and is on house arrest at her mother’s home in Lenoir. She still faces trial on drug charges that federal prosecutors say are connected a methamphetamine ring in Burke and Caldwell counties.
“Obviously you knew what the numbers were in the jail,” defense attorney Reggie McKnight told the Observer. “I had the obligation to make this argument. I’m glad the courts took the time to hear both sides.”
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