Lawsuit Filed Against White County Judge And Sheriff

A Virginia-based law firm filed a civil action lawsuit Thursday against White County Sheriff Oddie Shoupe and General Sessions Judge Sam Benningfield.

Nexus Caridades Attorneys filed the lawsuit in response to a discontinued jail program that offered  inmates free vasectomies or birth control implants in exchange for reduced sentences.

“Judge Benningfield, Sheriff Shoupe, his deputies and the White County administration are playing God,” Nexus Caridades President and CEO Mike Donovan said. “They are making determinations about who should be able to procreate and who should be sterilized. It harkens back to the worst evils of our former century and some of the worst things that have happened in this country and indeed around the world.”

Donovan called Shoupe the mastermind of the program. He alleged that Shoupe began offering birth control and vasectomies to inmates before Judge Benningfield signed a standing order implementing the program in May.

According to the suit, Christel Ward received a long-term birth control implant on May 5th after learning of the program from a White County sheriff’s deputy. Judge Sam Benningfield did not sign his standing order to implement the program until May 15th. The lawsuit also states that Ward never received her 30-day reduced sentence after receiving the implant.

The birth control program began in May when White County Judge Sam Benningfield signed a standing order offering a 30-day reduction in sentence to any inmate that was sterilized or had a birth control implant. Benningfield withdrew the order in July after public outcry. At the time, Benningfield said the state health department was paying for the procedures. The health department said it has never paid for any birth control or sterilization procedure at the White County Jail.

Other defendants in the suit include Deputy Donna Daniels and White County, Tennessee.