(NewsNation) — A video showing a disabled woman entering a no-contest plea in court has gone viral, sparking outrage and renewed calls for criminal justice reform.
The woman, 26-year-old Imarah Aaliyah Bryan, spent nearly 50 days in jail after allegedly trying to steal $145 worth of merchandise from a Target in Orlando, Florida.
Criminal defense and personal injury attorney Andrew Darling told “NewsNation Now” that his son sent him the video, which he found “heartbreaking to watch.”
However, he called the reactions online “a little misleading.”
‘Unresolved’ first case against Imarah Aaliyah Bryan
Darling said Bryan spent nearly 50 days in jail not only because of the petit theft charge, but because she already had another open case.
Court records show she was arrested for misdemeanor battery in April after police were called to reports of her trespassing at an airport. An employee was trying to take a photo of her when she “struck him several times with her hands on his chin and neck,” an incident report states. She pleaded no contest.
When she was arrested for petit theft the following month, in May, “it revoked the release on her own recognizance for the first case,” Darling said.
That plea had allowed her to stay out of jail without paying bail, but the new arrest canceled it, “so she spent 47-48 days in custody until she resolved the first case that she had,” Darling said.
Video sparks outrage online
The video of Bryan’s appearance in court has led to outrage online, with many saying that the woman needed support rather than jail time.
Some called out the fact that she was ordered to pay $339.70 to the Orlando Police Department after entering the no-contest plea.
“They’ll claim this somehow benefits the local community and is worth it to ruin her life,” one onlooker wrote under the video on X.
Darling said that the way to prevent this kind of thing from happening again in the future would be to “stop jailing people for misdemeanors” in Florida.
“I don’t think anybody should spend 50 days in custody for a petit theft,” he added.