A Staten Island criminal suspect stricken with cancer died in the Bellevue Hospital jail ward, triggering charges Friday that because of his illness he never should have been locked up in the first place.
Ricky Howell, 60, was arrested and sent to Rikers Island for a series of burglary charges in Staten Island and Queens in September and then transferred to the Bellevue jail ward on Feb. 9, records show.
He died Thursday just after 5 p.m. from a terminal illness, the Legal Aid Society said. The city Medical Examiner determined Friday Howell died of throat cancer.
In a statement, Legal Aid lawyers criticized prosecutors and judges for pushing to have him jailed, rather than housed in a more compassionate setting.
Howell was receiving long-term medical care when he died, the Correction Department said. The Legal Aid lawyers said Howell was receiving good care at Bellevue.
But the lawyers said Staten Island prosecutors and judges “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” were “truly disgraceful, callous, and devoid of any human decency.”
Staten Island DA Michael McMahon countered Friday that while Howell’s death was a tragedy, his office went along with proposals to let Howell stay free on bail so long as he lived with his mother, stayed out of trouble and obtained medical treatment.
“On two separate occasions, our office consented to Mr. Howell’s release from custody, and on both occasions, he failed to abide by every term of his release,” McMahon said. “It is outrageous that the Legal Aid Society would so grossly mischaracterize the facts in this case.”
McMahon noted that three judges in Staten Island and Queens concurred he should be held pending outcome of his criminal cases.
Howell had pleaded guilty in June 2022 in a Staten Island case that included charges of burglary, criminal trespass and possession of stolen property.
But he failed…
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