The Legal Aid Society, Brooklyn Defender Services, New York County Defender Services, The Bronx Defenders, and Neighborhood Defender Service of Harlem are condemning the treatment of Samantha Randazzo, who gave birth while in custody during Brooklyn arraignments on Friday night.

Attorneys and staff from The Legal Aid Society and Brooklyn Defender Services who were present in the courtroom witnessed her labor and deliver her child on a courtroom bench
without adequate medical care, privacy, or dignity, surrounded by court personnel, prosecutors, law enforcement officers, and others.

“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,” reads a statement from the defender organizations. “That should horrify every New Yorker.”

“No person should ever be forced to give birth in handcuffs or endure labor while restrained, exposed, and denied basic medical care and human dignity,” the statement continues. “What occurred in that courtroom was not simply a failure of protocol or preparedness. It was a profound moral failure and a devastating reflection of the cruelty embedded in our carceral system.”

The organizations are demanding an immediate and transparent investigation into the actions of all agencies and personnel involved, including the Office of Court Administration, the New York City Police Department, the Brooklyn District Attorney’s Office, and court staff responsible for the conditions that led to this incident.