Tennessee prosecutor fired over plea bargains involving female sterilization

A Nashville prosecutor has been fired after reports surfaced that he made sterilization of women part of plea negotiations in some cases.

Former assistant district attorney Brian Holmgren confirmed Wednesday that he was fired from the Davidson County district attorney’s office. He declined to comment specifically on his dismissal, and officials would not say what prompted his firing.

The firing came after the Associated Press reported that the invasive surgery was part of plea bargain talks at least four times in the past five years in child abuse and neglect cases. The most recent of those cases was first reported by the Tennessean newspaper.

That case involved a woman with a 20-year history of mental illness who had been charged with neglect after her five-day-old baby mysteriously died. H