City correction officers repeatedly blocked medical staff from administering care to a severely ill woman held at Rikers Island weeks before the 23-year-old fell into a coma and died of apparent organ failure, a jail oversight board found.
Charizma Jones was receiving treatment for a possible case of scarlet fever when she was transferred to an infirmary unit May 4 for worsening symptoms.
But when medical personnel attempted to check her vital signs, they were stopped from entering her cell on six separate occasions by correction officers who cited an unspecified “security reason,” according to a report released Monday by the Board of Corrections, an independent oversight agency.
After two days of isolation, Jones was rushed to a hospital with a rash, high fever and signs of acute liver damage. On July 14 she was pronounced dead of “multiorgan failure,” according to a preliminary examination.
Jones’ death has sparked outrage among advocates and some officials, as well as ongoing probes by the state Attorney General’s Office and the city’s Department of Investigation.