Source: Family of Charizma Jones
Jail is a punishment, but being behind bars should never be a death sentence. A NYC jail is under investigation after a Black woman, who was severely ill, died from alleged staff neglect.
According to AP, Charizma Jones was being held at Rikers Island when the 23-year-old fell into a coma and died of apparent organ failure.
Jones was receiving treatment for a possible case of scarlet fever and was transferred to an infirmary unit on May 4 after her symptoms worsened.
While in the infirmary unit, when medical personnel tried to check Charizma Jones’ vital signs, correction officers stopped them from entering her cell on six separate occasions who cited an unspecified “security reason,” according to a report released by the Board of Corrections.
The oversight agency also viewed surveillance video that appeared to show Jones woozy and unable to stand while in the general population on May 4. However, according to the report, an officer called the health clinic to address the medical emergency, but “there was no staff to respond.”
Fellow inmates then tried to help Charizma Jones by rubbing ice on her skin to cool her off. According to the report, they held her head up as she appeared to be going in and out of consciousness.
“They became frustrated with the lack of response by clinical staff, so they became disruptive and refused to comply with staff orders,” the report says.
Inmates became so frustrated with the staff that they sounded the emergency alarm to get her some much-needed attention.
Once Jones was transferred to the infirmary, she was treated for scarlet fever and was left isolated in her cell. The investigation found that even as Jones was vomiting into the toilet, correctional officers repeatedly refused to let medical workers help her.
On June 14, Charizma Jones was pronounced dead of “multiorgan failure,” according to AP.
Family attorney, MK Kaishian, called the actions of the officers “illegal and morally repugnant,” accusing them of contributing to her death that was “preventable and agonizing.”
“While it is imperative that individual officers are held accountable, it is equally if not more urgent to acknowledge and address the fact that Ms. Jones’ death was caused by systemic rot and indifference to life within New York City’s jails originating at the highest levels of City leadership,” said Kaishian in a statement to AP.
In September 2023, Jones arrived at Rikers Island to serve a sentence for assault. The jail is one of the country’s largest and most notorious prisons.
In November 2024, a Manhattan judge ruled that the Rikers Island jail complex had placed incarcerated people in “unconstitutional danger.”
According to AP, based on a 2019 plan approved by the city council, New York is legally required to close Rikers Island and replace it with four smaller and more modern jails by 2027.
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