A 33-year-old woman gave birth in a Brooklyn courtroom late last week, just hours after being discharged from a hospital.
Samantha Randazzo, 33, went into labor during her arraignment on a drug charge and, according to witnesses, delivered her baby “on a courtroom bench without adequate medical care, privacy or dignity.” Randazzo’s attorney, Wynton Sharpe, in an interview with the New York Times, praised court officers who rushed to help after Randazzo’s water broke. He described the scene as “joyful and sad.”
Randazzo delivered a baby boy, according to Sharpe.
Arrested On Drug Charges
The New York Police Department said Randazzo was arrested Thursday evening after officers allegedly saw two people on a rooftop at a public housing complex with a controlled substance “in plain view.” Randazzo was officially charged with criminal possession of a controlled substance and criminal trespass, but officers were not initially aware she was pregnant.
“At the time of arrest and when they arrived at the station house, Ms. Randazzo was wearing baggy clothes, did not inform officers she was pregnant, did not indicate any disabilities, and declined medical attention,” police said in a statement.
Early Friday morning, Randazzo eventually informed officers she was pregnant and “experiencing withdrawal from drugs.” Police opted to take her to Coney Island Hospital, but she was later discharged. She then gave birth in the courtroom later that evening, roughly four hours after she was discharged from the hospital, according to the NYPD. A call was made to the FDNY after Randazzo gave birth, and she was eventually transferred by emergency medical services to Brooklyn Hospital.
“What occurred in that courtroom was not simply a failure of protocol or preparedness,” The Legal Aid Society, Brooklyn Defender Services, New York County Defender Services, the Bronx Defenders and the Neighborhood Defender Service of Harlem said in a joint statement. “It was a profound moral failure and a devastating reflection of the cruelty embedded in our carceral system.”
It seems like everyone involved would like a do-over here. Mrs. Randazzo likely regrets some of the choices she made leading up to her arrest and incarceration, the hospital staff probably wish they would have held her longer knowing what they know now, and police likely wish things would have played out differently on their end. No one person dropped the ball here. Everyone played their part in what turned out to be a wild story, and hopefully Mrs. Randazzo and her baby are getting the care they need to recover from the birthing process and to move forward with their lives in a healthy and happy manner.
If you’re nine months pregnant and are in need of a defense lawyer, or if you’re at any other stage of life and need assistance with a criminal matter, connect with Avery and the team at Appelman Law Firm today. Give us a call at (952) 224-2277.
