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WARREN -- No decisions have been made on whether to indict a Warren woman facing charges related to the handling of her miscarriage after the release of a Trumbull County grand jury report Wednesday morning.
The case of Brittany Watts, 34, of Warren, has been continued on the latest grand jury report as Watts awaits a decision that will determine whether she will be charged with fifth-degree felony abuse of a corpse after delivering a stillbirth at 22 weeks into the toilet of her Tod Avenue home on Sept. 22, 2023.
About a week ago, Trumbull County Prosecutor Dennis Watkins' office sent out a letter amid growing media attention and calls for the prosecutor to drop the charges leveled against Watts.
In it, Watkins explained he was "duty bound" by the grand jury process.
His letter has drawn criticism from a reproductive rights group behind the recently passed constitutional amendment Issue 1, which codified abortion into Ohio law.
The Ohio Physicians for Reproductive Rights called the response a "disappointment" after failing to directly address the charges against
Watts.
"Prosecutor Watkins knows he has the power to drop the charges against Ms. Watts," OPRR Executive Director Dr. Lauren Beene said. "We believe he has an obligation to explain why he refuses to use it."
The Minority Leadership of Trumbull and Ashtabula Counties, which includes the Trumbull NAACP, Ashtabula NAACP, Trumbull County Interdenominational Ministerial Alliance and the Warren / Youngstown Urban League, joined the OPRR in calling for the charges against Watts to be dismissed.
"The NAACP has been made aware of egregious civil rights violations against Ms. Brittany Watts," the letter states. "This case is a prime example of the inequities that lie within our health care and judicial systems. The following details outline areas of concern regarding Ms. Brittany Watts' civil rights."