A woman was left “traumatized and humiliated” after being forced to give birth while handcuffed to a bench inside a New York courtroom after being held in custody for over 24 hours, a legal aid group has said.
Samantha Randazzo, 33, went into labor and was forced to deliver her child on a courtroom bench in Brooklyn on Friday “without adequate medical care, privacy, or dignity,” according to a statement from a group of public defenders and legal advocates.
Randazzo was surrounded by law enforcement, prosecutors and courtroom staff, some of whom reportedly laughed and joked at the situation, the group claimed. “She deserved care, compassion, safety, and dignity. Instead, she was subjected to trauma and humiliation in full public view,” the statement read.
The Independent has requested comment from the New York courts system.
You forgot to include:
Her (Randazzo’s) lawyer, Wynton Sharpe, disputed the group’s claims and said court officers reacted quickly and the presiding judge cleared the room immediately.
“She didn’t have to say anything. We were like, oh OK, this is happening, like, now,” Sharpe told The New York Times. “It was a joyful and sad situation, given the circumstances.”
Al Baker, a spokesperson for the New York Office of Court Administration, told The Independent that “officers acted with swift professionalism to ensure the safety and sanctity of life for all individuals” in court, “personifying the everyday virtues of their sworn service.”
Randazzo was arrested Thursday on charges of drug possession and trespassing. She was allegedly on the roof of her building in the Nostrand Houses in Brooklyn without permission, according to the New York City Police Department.
Officers claim to have found a small amount of heroin and cocaine on her during a search.
Randazzo was not eligible for a desk appearance ticket, which would allow her to return to court at a future date, because she had an open warrant for her arrest. She was taken to nearby hospital, then discharged 30 hours later and taken to the courthouse for arraignment.
“Ms. Randazzo had reportedly recently been discharged from a hospital despite being nine months pregnant before being returned to custody and brought to Brooklyn arraignments, where she went into labor in open court,” according to Saturday night’s joint statement from The Legal Aid Society, Brooklyn Defender Services, New York County Defender Services, The Bronx Defenders and Neighborhood Defender Service of Harlem.
So to recap, the woman was arrested for possession and trespassing. Because she ALREADY had a warrant out for other stuff, she couldn’t just be issued a ticket to appear in court at a later date. After arresting her, the police brought her to the hospital first and spent 30 hours in the hospital before being taken to court. She was under arrest, why wouldn’t she be handcuffed? She was likely handcuffed during those 30 hours in the hospital also. Being pregnant or disabled doesn’t make you above the law. Arraignments typically occur within 24 to 48 hours in NYS. She happened to give birth during the process because it was time for it to happen, not because conditions stressed her into labor. Labor is different for every woman and can vary wildly. Some women can give birth within minutes of their water breaking.
This article seems like it’s click bait/rage bait. My original reaction at just reading the blurb in the post was rage, but when I read the WHOLE article I didn’t feel like I had a reason to be mad anymore.
There are plenty of instances of inhumane treatment, but this isn’t one of them.
And this is what makes it to the public eye. Just imagine the horrors behind closed security doors.
She was 9 months pregnant and they couldn’t wait and schedule her court date after the birth?
Clearing the room is not a good defense. Have you ever had a baby? I have, and handcuffed it would be terrifying. Being in court IN ACTIVE LABOR should not be allowed at all, how can you give real answers or pay any attention to what is going on?
This is the US we’re talking about here…
Pretty much the American moral ceiling
This is some medieval bullshit.
This would not have been allowed in midaevil europe in most cases
ah, but in medieval US, very common
Nor in medieval North and South America for what it’s worth.
For what it’s worth, medieval (and other historical) societies in general had pretty high respect for women in childbirth. In was commonly seen as among the more heavy and challenging things anyone could face.
Part of that was the recognition that, even if she had committed the worst crimes, the potential infant would be innocent at birth (except of course for Original Sin) and deserved to try to live long enough to be baptized. So a pregnant murderess wouldn’t be executed, for instance, until after the birth.
And it was normal for a midwife to be called to assist.
In non-criminal situations the mother’s life was generally given precedence over the fetus’s in a crisis. Partly because she could have more, partly because she was more likely to survive long-term if the intervention succeeded.
Maybe the Aztecs but they had like a dying in childbirth is technically a warriors death thingso probably not or can really see romans maybe trojans but not midaevol Europe Americas eras differently but yeah I can’t think if anywhere In na this ever would gave been tolerated Mayan or incan culture wouldn’t have don’t know the rest
Where’s the last straw?
The bastards around her all joked and made fun of her, absolutely certain that there won’t be any accountability for their cruelty.
Chances are they’re right.
They didn’t even uncuff her. As if what, she’d escape in the middle of childbirth?
I hope she sues the ever living shit out of them.
That’s unconscionable
Geez, what a fucking nightmare. And in New York?
I honestly thought that places like New York or Cali were at least less horrible than a lot of other places in the U.S. but apparently I was wrong?
That’s what copagenda does to you. Most US shows and movies about cops or the judicial system take place in the big blue cities. It has subconsciously altered how you view law enforcement and the courtroom of those cities. But people living in those cities know better.
It’s not even that. Honestly, I barely watch TV, but it always seemed to me that the most shitty, dystopian laws I read about were not usually in certain (blue) states. Not saying I think it is heaven there, but that they are at least a little bit more progressive and better/safer to live in.
But you’re right, I guess as an outsider (non-American) I obviously have a skewed view on the matter.
You’d get that impression, but the LAPD in California and the NYPD in New York City (Both blue cities) are renowned for their use of excessive force and misconduct. Which is enabled by a judiciary which doesn’t punish it and Unions which insulate their members from any consequences. While there may be more sympathetic judges in democratic leaning cities they’re few and far between. The best anyone who suffers an injustice at the hands of any justice department is to be fortunate enough to go before one of those sympathetic judges who will at least do an honest job and may side with you.
Are you kidding? It’s all shit all the time no matter what state. NY, CA, MA, NJ just have a different flavor of Big Brother
Wow. Imagine what things would be like if we lived in a misogynistic society in which women were hated, despised, and punished.
If anti abortion activists actually wanted anything other than publishing women, they’d be outraged by the state of maternal health care in prisons. They are okay with a woman miscarrying because she gets the shit beaten out of her in prison, they just don’t want anything to be her choice.
It’s hard to come up with a more apt metaphor of the injustice of the justice system
But life, uh… finds a way
The world is going to shit
going?
Yes. It’ll be even worse next year.
So am I reading this right? That her own lawyer (I get that it is likely a public defender) is disputing what the group said and claims that the room was cleared quickly because she just went into labor suddenly?
Also, this makes me curious about heroin, I would imagine it would delay labor, and being off it could return to a normal cycle? Before the god awful withdrawal kicks in.
I am not defending this situation, I am just curious as the article has a lot going on in it. In a decent society maybe she wouldn’t have gotten to the point where a building is going after her for trespass, and she would get help with her addiction before becoming a mother. And not having to be in court at 9 months pregnant.
Did I miss where it said she was using heroin? I saw “selling.”
*Allegedly selling.
But come on there has to SOMETHING that makes it her fault that they left her handcuffed to a wall for 24 hours wall while in labor. Right?
Lol
Fair. I made an assumption. I am still confused why her lawyer disagrees the the petitioner group which was made up of some public defenders. That’s just bizarre.
Because her lawyer might be in some way liable for this crime to have taken place?
Interesting idea. She could be untroubled either way then. Not representing your client isn’t great.
Bloody hell shakes head in disbelief
But why though?
How the hell is this even possible? 🤷♂️
