A pregnant South Carolina woman serving a four-year prison sentence after a verbal encounter with police during Black Lives Matter protests is facing declining health, according to an attorney representing her.
Lawyers for Brittany Martin, 34, are petitioning a judge to reconsider her prison sentence. Sybil Dione Rosado, one of Martin's attorneys told CNN that in the past few months, Martin, who is expecting a baby later this year, has lost weight and suffered from several health conditions.
The Associated Press reported that Marin was found guilty earlier this year of breaching the peace in a high and aggravated manner. The charges stemmed from an encounter with police during protests in in June 2020 following the killing of George Floyd.
Rosado told CNN that Martin's remarks to police were along the lines of: "I'm willing to die for the Black, are you willing to die for the blue? This is just a job for you. This is my life."
Martin's lawyers told CNN she wasn't "physically violent or threatening" during the protest.
Rosado, and Martin's sister, Whitney Martin told the AP that Martin was taken to the hospital twice in July. Once for experiencing contractions and another time for going into preterm labor at 25 weeks. Despite being pregnant, Martin lost 12 pounds that month.
The AP reported that Martin in prison was sent to solitary confinement for refusing to cut her dreads. Rosado told the outlet that she's saw scratches on Martin's face as well as a bloody eye during a recent visit. Additionally, the AP citing jail records reported that Martin was sent to detention twice for threatening to inflict harm on an employee and for refusing or failing to obey orders.
"She's spending four years in jail and pregnant and struggling for the life of her baby because she's loud and Black. It's an absolute travesty of justice," Rosado told CNN.