A New York City jail supervisor filled out paperwork, chatted with multiple people and walked slowly around a housing unit even as she knew a man was taking steps to end his own life in his cell, prosecutors argued in state court on Thursday in Manhattan.
Capt. Rebecca Hillman, 40, is now facing a charge of criminally negligent homicide in the death of Ryan Wilson, who was 29 when he died in November 2020. Hillman is also charged with lying about the incident on official paperwork. If convicted, she could spend up to four years in prison.
Prosecutors say Hillman waited 15 minutes to open the cell door after Wilson attempted to hang himself in his cell. They also said that she told subordinates not to intervene, because Wilson was “playing” and was still breathing.
By the time medical help arrived, prosecutors said, Wilson was dead.
“Ryan Wilson’s life could have been saved, but for her actions,” Assistant District Attorney Matthew Sears said during opening arguments before Judge Robert Mandelbaum in Manhattan. He called the captain’s actions “heartless” and “egregious.”
The Department of Correction declined to comment on the case. The city correction captains’ union also did not respond to a request for comment.
Hillman’s trial raises questions not only about the actions of an individual captain, but also about the policies and norms of a department overcome by widespread violence, high rates of staff absenteeism, and surging drug overdoses and suicides at city jails. Last year, 19 people died in city custody or shortly after their release, marking the highest death rate in more than 25 years.
A recent Board of Correction report analyzing suicides in city custody in 2021 found several deficiencies in the department’s suicide prevention protocols and recommended the agency “re-evaluate and strengthen” its mental health and CPR training. The board also urged the DOC to recruit more suicide prevention aides.
Gothamist reported last year that less than 20% of correction officers have taken a mandatory suicide prevention class, even as suicides have spiked in city custody.
It’s incredibly rare for jail employees to face criminal charges when someone dies in custody. Since the state attorney general’s office started to investigate all in-custody deaths in 2021, 34 people have died in New York City jails, and not a single case so far has resulted in criminal charges. In 2015, a Rikers Island captain was sentenced to five years in federal prison for ignoring a man as he banged on his cell door for help after swallowing disinfectant and ultimately died. Last year, three Rikers officers and a captain were arrested for waiting to intervene when an 18-year-old attempted suicide — unsuccessfully — in 2019.
Hillman’s defense attorney, Todd Spodek, blamed the incident on rampant dysfunction in the Department of Correction and a culture that forces officers to navigate that dysfunction without proper training, staffing and facilities. He said the captain thought that Wilson was being manipulative when he threated to kill himself. The attorney also said Hillman didn’t intervene immediately because she thought Wilson was “kidding.”
Spodek said that his client will take the stand and tell jurors that she “did not think Ryan Wilson was serious.”
“She did not perceive the risk,” Spodek said. “Rebecca Hillman did not perceive the risk that this really was a suicide.”
During opening statements, Hillman looked ahead, her dark brown, shoulder-length hair blocking her from the jury to her left and the dozens of people sitting in the pews behind her.
Wilson died by suicide less than a month after he was arrested on robbery and menacing charges. He was being held at the Manhattan Detention Complex.
According to prosecutors, Hillman ran the unit where Wilson was housed. She had planned to move him after he got into an argument with another person in custody. Before he could be moved, though, he took steps to kill himself and told an officer outside the cell door that he would do so if Hillman didn’t let him out.
Prosecutors said the officer called Hillman and asked her to come immediately. Instead, they said, she filled out paperwork. About 10 minutes later, Wilson jumped. Prosecutors allege that Hillman told an officer not to go into the cell, made her normal rounds and waited 15 minutes to call the medical team. Wilson was already unconscious and had a faint pulse once an officer cut him down, according to prosecutors. Jail staff started to administer CPR, but medical workers couldn’t save him.
On an incident report detailing what happened, prosecutors said Hillman lied about all of the “salient facts,” including that Wilson had been cut down “immediately.”
Shortly after his death, Wilson’s sister, Elayna Manson, told the Daily News that her brother had struggled with bipolar disorder for more than two decades. She criticized the Department of Correction for not taking better care of her brother’s mental health.
Prosecutors said department staff are required to immediately cut someone down as soon as they attempt to hang themselves and not to decide on their own whether the threat is real — staff had even received an order reminding them of this policy. Spodek, Hillman’s defense attorney, said correction officers regularly violate department rules to maneuver through difficult circumstances and keep themselves safe.
Hillman is currently assigned to the Anna M. Kross Center on Rikers Island, where she is on modified duty and has no contact with people in custody. The Department of Correction suspended her following Wilson’s death, but she returned to work after spending the maximum amount of time on suspension. She earned more than $96,000 last year, according to Open Data NYC.
If someone you know exhibits warning signs of suicide: do not leave the person alone; remove any firearms, alcohol, drugs or sharp objects that could be used in a suicide attempt; call or text 988 or chat at 988lifeline.org; take the person to an emergency room; or seek help from a medical or mental health professional.
Matt Katz contributed reporting.
