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Mother forced to stay in jail as daughter died

Bill Lackey Judge Denise Moody

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Judge says she did her duty in refusing to release mother

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Do you agree with the judge's decision to deny Dawn Brewer early release from jail?

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Tina Robertson (left) and her uncle, Elwood Manns, listen as Dawn Brewer, 33, cries while describing the circumstances surrounding Brewerís 3-week-oldís death while Brewer was in jail.

Bill Lackey Tina Robertson (left) and her uncle, Elwood Manns, listen as Dawn Brewer, 33, cries while describing the circumstances surrounding Brewerís 3-week-oldís death while Brewer was in jail.

By Bridgette Outten, Staff Writer Updated 11:06 AM Wednesday, June 17, 2009

SPRINGFIELD — At the center of the story is a 3-week-old girl, born nearly four months early with a host of medical problems.

The infant, Madison Bell, died Sunday, June 7, in the neonatal intensive care unit of Miami Valley Hospital in Dayton. Her mother, Dawn Brewer, 33, was in the Clark County Jail when Bell died.

Brewer says she has been a drug user and is no stranger to the justice system. But she tried to get early release from jail so that she could be at her daughter’s side and was unfairly denied, Brewer said.

She was serving a six-month sentence for theft concurrently with an 180-day sentence for two charges of driving with a suspended license.

Brewer’s sentence was suspended in early May when she had complications with her pregnancy and was placed on bed rest. After the baby was born May 17, Clark County Municipal Court Judge Denise Moody ordered Brewer to complete her sentence.

Last month, Moody denied Brewer’s motions to be released temporarily from jail.

Moody denied Brewer’s request, the judge wrote, because Brewer had walked away from a treatment center in 2008 and failed a drug screening test four days after delivering her baby.

“A bed at (Xenia’s) Women Recovery Center is priceless,” Moody said Tuesday, June 16, about her decision. “(Brewer) was lucky enough to get one.”

And, Moody wrote in her ruling, a Miami Valley Hospital doctor told the court that Brewer’s presence at the hospital was not crucial for Madison Bell’s survival.

“I think the record speaks for itself,” the judge said. “Given (Brewer’s) demonstrated unwillingness to complete treatment, I think she’s a danger to the public.”

Brewer’s attorney responded that medical records show that the drugs found in her system were derivatives of drugs prescribed after Brewer’s Cesarean section delivery.

Brewer said she’s been off illegal drugs for more than eight months. Though she didn’t complete her drug treatment program, she said she hasn’t done drugs since she was in the treatment facility.

She also denied doing illegal drugs while she was pregnant.

“I thought with all my documentation from the doctor, I would be able to stay with my baby,” Brewer said Saturday, June 13. “I never thought (Moody) would put me back in jail.”

She was temporarily released for her daughter’s funeral Saturday. The child’s 10 a.m. service was held at the Chapel of Ferncliff Cemetery with interment following.

Brewer reported back to the jail at 6 p.m. the same day.

“I’m OK with doing my time,” she said. “But I’m not OK with not being able to see my daughter, just to be with her — at least being able to be at her deathbed.”

Contact this reporter at (937) 328-0374 or boutten@coxohio.com.

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