NEW YORK (AP) — City correction officers repeatedly blocked medical staff from administering care to a severely ill woman held at Rikers Island weeks before the 23-year-old fell into a coma and died of apparent organ failure, a jail oversight board found.
Charizma Jones was receiving treatment for a possible case of scarlet fever when she was transferred to an infirmary unit May 4 for worsening symptoms.
But when medical personnel attempted to check her vital signs, they were stopped from entering her cell on six separate occasions by correction officers who cited an unspecified “security reason,” according to a report released Monday by the Board of Corrections, an independent oversight agency.
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After two days of isolation, Jones was rushed to a hospital with a rash, high fever and signs of acute liver damage. On July 14 she was pronounced dead of “multiorgan failure,” according to a preliminary examination.
Jones’ death has sparked outrage among advocates and some officials, as well as ongoing probes by the state Attorney General’s Office and the city’s Department of Investigation.
An attorney for her family, MK Kaishian, called the officers’ actions “illegal and morally repugnant” and accused them of contributing to a death that was both “preventable and agonizing.”
The findings come weeks after a federal judge ordered the city to begin preparing for a possible federal takeover of the jail system, one of the country’s largest and most notorious, ruling it had placed its incarcerated population in “unconstitutional danger.”
The investigation into Jones’ death details several of the chronic issues at the heart of the federal court case, including allegations of staff neglect and inadequate medical treatment.
A resident of the Bronx who suffered from mental health and substance problems, Jones arrived at Rikers Island in September 2023 to serve a sentence for assault. After allegedly fighting with a correction officer in April, she was placed on restricted status and deemed ineligible for early release.
According to surveillance video viewed by the oversight agency, she appeared woozy and unable to stand while in a general population unit May 4. But after an officer called the health clinic to report the medical emergency, they were told “there was no staff to respond,” the report says.
Instead fellow detainees tried to help Jones, rubbing ice on her skin to cool her off and holding her head as she appeared to lose 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. Eventually they triggered an emergency alarm that brought Jones medical attention.
After being transferred to the infirmary, she was prescribed antibiotics for a possible case of scarlet fever and isolated in a cell. But even as she was vomiting into a toilet, video shows, officers repeatedly refused to allow medical workers access to her cell, at one point stating she was on “Medlock,” the investigation found.
A spokesperson for the Department of Correction, Shayla Mulzac-Warner, declined to answer specific questions about the response, citing the ongoing investigations, but said, “The health and safety of every person in our care is always our foremost concern.”
According to the report, the agency has not produced records related to the refusal to grant medical access. An attorney for Jones’ family said they were not aware of any staffers being disciplined.
“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,” the attorney said in a statement.
Under a plan approved by the city council in 2019, New York is legally required to shutter Rikers Island and replace it with four smaller and more modern jails by 2027.
But Mayor Eric Adams, a Democrat, has resisted the closure and urged lawmakers to come up with a “Plan B.”
The city’s budget director acknowledged this year that officials would likely not meet the mandated deadline.
