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Detainee stricken with cancer dies in city custody after Staten Island courts refused his release
By
Matt Katz
Published Jul 7, 2023
Modified Jul 7, 2023
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valerii eidlin/Shutterstock
By
Matt Katz
Published Jul 7, 2023
Modified Jul 7, 2023
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A 60-year-old man facing burglary charges died Thursday at the Bellevue Hospital jail ward after a battle with cancer, according to correction officials, becoming the fifth death in city custody this year and triggering criticism about the decision to hold him in jail while he was ill.
The Legal Aid Society, which represented Ricky Howell, released a statement slamming the judges and prosecutors whom they said refused to release Howell last year while he was dying from stage four cancer.
“The judges and prosecutors on Staten Island who vigorously fought to keep him jailed despite knowing full well his medical condition and imminent death, and that he posed no threat to public safety, [are] truly disgraceful, callous, and devoid of any human decency,” the Legal Aid Society statement read.
But court documents show that judges, aware of his condition, expressed regret in keeping Howell in custody because he repeatedly skipped court and was arrested for other crimes while free. On two occasions, according to court papers, prosecutors actually agreed to release Howell, but both times he failed to abide by the terms of his release.
“The death of any New Yorker is a tragedy, however the facts and history of Mr. Howell’s journey through the criminal justice system clearly show our office’s repeated efforts, and Mr. Howell’s repeated failures, to lead a law abiding life and to receive medical treatment outside Department of Correction custody,” Staten Island’s district attorney, Michael McMahon, said in a statement.
Howell, who was recently homeless, pleaded guilty last year to third-degree burglary for stealing a set of tools from a garage on Staten Island in 2021. After initially failing to make $5,000 bail, prosecutors and a judge agreed to release Howell due to his illness on the condition that he maintain his medical care.
But Howell missed follow-up court dates in the fall of 2021, resulting in a warrant for his arrest. When police brought him to court the following April, a judge once again set $5,000 bail. A plea deal two months later resulted in Howell being released on probation under the stipulation that he continue chemotherapy treatments at Elmhurst Hospital.
Yet Howell then missed his next court date, failed to check in with his probation officer, and was arrested for two additional burglaries in Queens. Since he violated the plea agreement, a judge ruled that he had to be held in custody.
“While this Court has compassion for the situation [the] defendant is facing, the Court also bears the responsibility of holding [the] defendant accountable for his actions,” State Supreme Court Justice Lisa Grey wrote in a January order. “If released to the care of a nursing home, there is nothing preventing defendant from absconding, committing more crimes, and not appearing before this Court as necessary. Defendant has shown this court time and again, that this is exactly what he would do.”
Four months after that order, in April, Howell’s attorney, Danielle Welch, asked a Queens Supreme Court Justice to lower bail to $1 because Howell was indisputably nearing the end of his life. That motion was denied.
“If I had a crystal ball and knew he would go home and live out his days at home, but I don't have that confidence,” Justice John Zoll said, according to a court transcript.
“I apologize, because this is the type of thing where as a judge you like to do the right thing. Unfortunately, Mr. Howell has made that impossible, largely because while he has been sick, he has still committed these felonies, not just in Queens but in Staten Island. The application is denied, regretfully.”
In his statement on Friday, McMahon, the district attorney, criticized Legal Aid’s portrayal of the situation: “It is outrageous that the Legal Aid Society would so grossly mischaracterize the facts in this case and also blatantly fail to acknowledge that three different Supreme Court Justices in two different counties reached the same conclusion: that Mr. Howell’s actions and failures to abide by court orders and the terms of his plea agreement necessitated that he be placed back into custody.”
The Legal Aid Society’s statement said that Howell was known for his “kindness and charisma.”
“This stunning lack of compassion and empathy brandished by Staten Island judges and prosecutors throughout this case is an all too common punitive quality of the criminal legal system that refuses to recognize our clients as human beings,” the attorneys’ statement said.
The cause of Howell’s death was tonsil cancer, according to the city medical examiner’s office.
The Department of Correction, which has faced criticism for announcing it would not issue press releases regarding deaths, notified the media within 18 hours of Howell’s death. A statement from the department also said the city had notified the federal monitor who oversees the jails; the monitor, Steve Martin, said last month that officials had withheld information about recent deaths.
This story has been updated with additional information.
Tagged
public safety
staten island
Matt Katz
Matt Katz is a former WNYC & Gothamist reporter.
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Gothamist is funded by sponsors and member donations
Gothamist is funded by sponsors and member donations
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