Woman gives birth inside NYC courtroom while handcuffed to bench after 24 hours in custody, legal aid groups say
Woman gives birth inside NYC courtroom while handcuffed to bench after 24 hours in custody, legal aid groups say
Woman gives birth inside NYC courtroom ‘while handcuffed after 24 hours in custody’
Public defenders demand urgent investigation after 33-year-old woman ‘in shackles’ delivers child inside Brooklyn courthouse
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.