‘Morally repugnant’: Guards stopped sick detainee from seeing doctors prior to her death, report says

Charizma Jones, a 23-year-old from the Bronx, died in July after a seven-month stay on Rikers Island. During her time in the jail, she became ill and for two days, officers prevented medical staff from checking on her, according to a new report. Photo via MK Kaishian

By Jacob Kaye

Correctional officers on Rikers Island refused to allow nurses to check on a 23-year-old woman for two days while she suffered a medical emergency inside an isolated cell, according to a new report from the Department of Correction’s oversight board.

When they finally did open the door to the cell, the woman was in such poor condition that medical staff almost immediately called an ambulance to bring her to a hospital.

Over the next two months, the woman, Charizma Jones, was taken from hospital to hospital as she developed a painful skin condition and generally saw her health worsen. Nine weeks after officers locked her in the cell, Jones fell into a coma and then died. At the time of her death, over half of her skin had fallen off her body.

The days and months leading up to Jones’ death were recently detailed in a report by the Board of Correction, which provides oversight to the city’s jails on Rikers Island where Jones was being held.

While the report includes several previously unreported details, it mostly confirms claims made by Jones’ family in a pre-lawsuit filing where they accused the DOC of denying the previously-healthy Jones medical care as she began to develop the illness that would precede her death.

In the report, which also includes an investigation into the August death of 63-year-old Anthony Jordan, the BOC said it had several “concerns” about the final days Jones spent on Rikers, including the fact that officers locked her in a cell without access to medical care for two straight days for “security reason[s].”

“It’s grotesque and it’s morally repugnant,” said MK Kaishian, a partner at Kaishian & Mortazavi LLC, the firm representing Jones’ family.

Jones first arrived at Rikers on Sept. 10, 2023 to begin serving a one-year sentence for assault charges.

Though she was on track for early release, that possibly was squandered when a correctional officer accused Jones of assaulting them on April 16, 2024. Jones was rearrested and placed on enhanced restraint status.

Less than two weeks later, Jones, who had a history of mental illness, said that her throat had swelled up to the point that she could not eat and that she had developed hives and welts all over skin. She was sent to a clinic and tested for COVID-19, the flu and strep throat, all of which came back negative.

Jones was then placed in medical isolation, which is reserved for detainees with potential communicable illnesses, and given Benadryl and Tylenol. While Jones was in isolation, workers with Correctional Health Services, the division of the city’s Health + Hospitals system that provides medical care on Rikers, were able to check on the detainee.

About a week later, Jones’ condition appeared to improve.

“I feel good,” Jones reportedly told CHS staff. “I’m ready to get out of here.”

But Jones’ health wouldn’t last long.

Less than 24 hours after being released from medical isolation, Jones called 311 in search of medical attention.

“I have a swollen throat, redness, irritation, itchiness, and a hive breakout,” Jones reportedly told the detainee hotline. “My skin is turning orange and getting dark and peeling. I requested they take me to an actual hospital because they did an EKG, and I couldn’t stay still because of my skin.”

“They keep giving me medications, and they don’t know what is wrong with me,” Jones added. “Today, I got back from the infirmary, and they are refusing to give me antibiotics. My throat is closing. This is an emergency, and they said they have no doctors available.”

After making the call, Jones was standing in the dayroom of the housing unit she was being kept in when she leaned against a door for balance, according to the report. Another detainee grabbed her to prevent her from falling to the ground. While she was holding Jones, the detainee saw Jones’ eyes “rolled behind her head.”

Several detainees then told a correction officer seated in the front of the housing area to call in a medical emergency. The officer called the clinic and was allegedly told “there was no staff to respond,” the report said. Frustrated with the lack of response, Jones’ fellow detainees grabbed a chair for her to sit in and began to rub ice on her skin because she was feeling hot.

Eventually, Jones was taken to the clinic where it was discovered that she had developed new symptoms. Jones was nauseous, vomiting and had a fever and chills.

CHS staff allegedly recommended Jones be put back into isolation until her condition had been identified. They prescribed her antibiotics for the rash vomiting and the possibility of scarlet fever, as well as Tylenol.

Jones was then locked away and not seen by medical staff for two days.

Five times on May 5 and once on May 6, CHS staff attempted to check on Jones. Each time, they were told that they were not allowed to take Jones’ vitals “due to a security issue.”

“[Nurse] said DOC do not open door to check vitals,” CHS staff wrote in their notes on May 5 around 1:08 p.m.

“[S]everal attempts were made to do vitals…DOC officer on duty refused to opn [sic] cell,” another note from May 5 read.

At 8:15 a.m. on May 6, medical staff were allowed into Jones’ cell, where they discovered that she had a high fever, sore throat, a rash, the chills and an inflamed liver. They then called an ambulance and Jones, who was conscious, was taken to Elmhurst Hospital.

According to the report, doctors at Elmhurst discovered that Jones had several conditions, including one that was caused by the antibiotics she took on Rikers. She was given medication for the condition but doctors soon discovered that she was allergic to the treatment. Her liver, which had been damaged by the antibiotics, continued to function poorly despite the medicine.

Over the next two months, Jones became progressively more ill while, at times, refusing treatment. She also developed a number of new conditions, including jaundice and Steven Johnson Syndrome, a rare condition that causes one’s skin to blister and peel.

Eventually, Jones fell into a coma and was transferred to New York Presbyterian’s burn unit. CHS asked a judge to release Jones from custody, a request that was granted on July 11. She died three days later of “multiorgan failure,” according to a preliminary report.

Kaishian said the report highlighted a number of ways the DOC failed to keep not only Jones safe, but other detainees as well.

“What happened to Charizma can happen to anybody else on any other day,” the attorney said.

Kaishian also accused the DOC of violating its rules governing the use of solitary confinement. Because of her mental health diagnosis, Jones should not have been put in an isolated cell, the attorney said.

While the DOC claims that it hasn’t used solitary confinement as a form of punishment in over half a decade, detainees, lawyers, advocates, medical workers and researchers have said that guards regularly place detainees in isolated units that often mirror the practice of solitary confinement.

“Solitary confinement is solitary confinement under any other name,” Kaishian said. “And medical isolation, in this case, was solitary confinement for Charizma Jones.”

The City Council in 2023 passed a law banning solitary confinement in the city’s jails. Mayor Eric Adams vetoed the legislation only to have his veto overturned by the Council in early 2024. Though the law was supposed to be implemented in late July 2024 – several weeks after Jones’ death – Adams passed an executive order suspending the law indefinitely. The City Council sued Adams for skirting the law in December.