*A Rikers Island inmate suspected of having scarlet fever died last week after jail staff prevented medical workers from treating her.
According to the New York Post, Charizma Jones, 23, passed away over two months after EMS rushed her from the jail to a Queens hospital. A letter from The Legal Aid Society, sent to the Board of Correction, questions whether the jail staff’s neglect in treating the young woman contributed to her death.
Per the Mayo Clinic, “Scarlet fever is a bacterial illness that develops in some people who have strep throat. Also known as scarlatina, scarlet fever features a bright red rash that covers most of the body. Scarlet fever almost always includes a sore throat and a high fever.”
“Many troubling questions surround Ms. Jones’ death, and we join the Legal Aid Society in calling for a thorough investigation by the Board of Correction as we continue to gather critical information on behalf of her family,” MK Kaishian, an attorney for Jones’ family, told The Post.
“But whatever else may be revealed going forward, it is patently obvious that the [Department of Correction] denied medical care to a seriously ill person, and there is no excuse whatsoever for this contemptuous and inhumane conduct.”
According to the woman’s medical records, on May 5 and May 6, she had a rash, 102-degree fever, sore throat, chills, and vomiting. The Post reports that city Correctional Medical Services workers made multiple efforts to treat Jones in the jail’s infirmary. However, Department of Correction staff blocked them from entering her cell to check her vital signs, citing her as a security risk following an alleged assault on a correction officer.
“Several attempts were made to do vitals,” medical records state, per The Post. “DOC officer on duty refused to opn (sic) cell.”
On July 10, a doctor at the burn center of New York-Presbyterian Weill Cornell noted that Jones’ deteriorating skin condition and multiple organ failure reduced her chances of survival.
Jones died on July 14.
“Anytime you lose someone, no matter if they’re incarcerated or not, it’s just, it’s terrible,” Mayor Eric Adam said.
“There should be a review. If there was someone that blocked her medical care, I don’t know of a time that you should block someone’s medical care,” he added.
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