Legal advocates, public defenders and elected officials gathered outside Brooklyn courthouses on May 18, demanding accountability after a 33-year-old woman gave birth on a courtroom bench while handcuffed and awaiting arraignment on low-level criminal charges.
The incident, which advocates described as a preventable medical crisis and a profound failure of New York City’s criminal justice system, has sparked renewed scrutiny over conditions inside Brooklyn Criminal Court and the treatment of people in custody.
According to reporting by Brooklyn Paper, Samantha Randazzo was arrested on Thursday, May 14, 2026, on charges of drug possession and trespassing. While in the custody of the New York Police Department, Randazzo reportedly informed officers she was pregnant and experiencing medical distress.
She was transported to South Brooklyn Health in Coney Island at approximately 3:30 a.m. On Friday, before being discharged later that evening around 8 p.m., authorities brought her to Brooklyn Criminal Court for arraignment…