A woman was left “traumatized and humiliated” after being forced to give birth while handcuffed to a bench inside a New York courtroom after being held in custody for over 24 hours, a legal aid group has said.
Samantha Randazzo, 33, went into labor and was forced to deliver her child on a courtroom bench in Brooklyn on Friday “without adequate medical care, privacy, or dignity,” according to a statement from a group of public defenders and legal advocates.
Randazzo was surrounded by law enforcement, prosecutors and courtroom staff, some of whom reportedly laughed and joked at the situation, the group claimed. “She deserved care, compassion, safety, and dignity. Instead, she was subjected to trauma and humiliation in full public view,” the statement read.
The Independent has requested comment from the New York courts system.
Randazzo’s lawyer, Wynton Sharpe, disputed the group’s claims and said court officers reacted quickly and the presiding judge cleared the room immediately.
“She didn’t have to say anything. We were like, oh OK, this is happening, like, now,” Sharpe told The New York Times. “It was a joyful and sad situation, given the circumstances.”
Randazzo was arrested Thursday on charges of drug possession and trespassing. She was allegedly on the roof of her building in the Nostrand Houses in Brooklyn without permission, according to the New York City Police Department.
Officers claim to have found a small amount of heroin and cocaine on her during a search.
Randazzo was not eligible for a desk appearance ticket, which would allow her to return to court at a future date, because she had an open warrant for her arrest. She was taken to nearby hospital, then discharged 30 hours later and taken to the courthouse for arraignment.
“Ms. Randazzo had reportedly recently been discharged from a hospital despite being nine months pregnant before being returned to custody and brought to Brooklyn arraignments, where she went into labor in open court,” according to Saturday night’s joint statement from The Legal Aid Society, Brooklyn Defender Services, New York County Defender Services, The Bronx Defenders and Neighborhood Defender Service of Harlem.
“That should horrify every New Yorker,” the statement continued,” they said. “No person should ever be forced to give birth in handcuffs or endure labor while restrained, exposed, and denied basic medical care and human dignity.
Her delivery inside a courtroom was “not simply a failure of protocol or preparedness” but “a profound moral failure and a devastating reflection of the cruelty embedded in our carceral system,” they said.
The groups are demanding an “immediate and transparent investigation” into the agencies and personnel at the scene, including the NYPD, the Office of Court Administration, the Brooklyn District Attorney’s Office and “court staff responsible for the conditions that led to this incident.”
They have also demanded a review of the treatment of all pregnant people in custody.
“A child entered the world in a courtroo, while their mother was in chains,” they said. “New Yorkers should be outraged that this happened in our city in 2026.”
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