Guard watched as man hanged himself in jail, according to prosecutors

NEW YORK >> Ryan Wilson had been held at the Manhattan Detention complex for less than a month when he fell into a deep depression last November.

After an argument with another person at the jail, Wilson fashioned a noose out of a bedsheet and attached it to a light fixture. He told a correction officer that he would hang himself if he was not allowed out of his cell, according to court documents.

But Capt. Rebecca Hillman, who was supervising the area where Wilson was being held, did not appear to take his threat seriously.

When he tired of waiting for her and jumped off a stool with the sheet around his neck, Hillman told others at the jail that he was “playing,” prosecutors said. When another officer asked if he could enter the cell to cut Wilson down, she said no, leaving him to hang from the light fixture for nearly 15 minutes.

On Monday, Hillman, 38, was charged with criminally negligent homicide in Manhattan Criminal Court, and with filing a false report about the episode, which happened Nov. 22. She pleaded not guilty. Her lawyer did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

Wilson, 29, had struggled with mental health problems for years but had never tried to kill himself before, his lawyer said. He was charged with robbery in October 2020 and sent to the Manhattan jail complex, often called the Tombs.

Wilson’s death underscored pervasive problems in the city’s jail system, including efforts by some guards to cover up misconduct. The pandemic has also exacerbated shortcomings in the mental health system behind bars. Rates of self-harm have risen in the jails as fear of COVID-19 and the slow pace of the courts have contributed to an environment of near-constant anxiety, incarcerated people and their lawyers have said.

“We keep hearing Black lives matter but keep seeing Black lives don’t matter,” said Wilson’s lawyer, Benjamin Pinczewski. “Ryan Wilson’s life did not matter.”

Hillman and the second officer, whom Pinczewski identified as Oscar Rojo, were both suspended shortly after Wilson’s death was reported in the fall.

Wilson had spent seven years in prison for an attempted robbery and was released last June. His sister, Elayna Manson, said he received some help from a church in Brooklyn but grew impatient when he was unable to find work.

Wilson ended up in a shelter, a move that Manson said exacerbated his mental heath problems. She said she tried to encourage her brother, assuring him that his circumstances would improve and giving him money.

Wilson, who was on parole, was arrested on robbery charges in October, when he was trying to get money for food, his lawyer said. Being incarcerated again caused Wilson to go into a steep depression, Pinczewski said, adding that the Correction Department was aware of his mental health history and needs.

Patrick Ferraiuolo, president of the Correction Captains’ Association, did not respond to a request for comment.

The Rev. Kevin McCall, speaking on behalf of Wilson’s family after Hillman appeared in court, said that the criminal charges were a “step in the direction of justice” but that she should also be fired.

“We’re not satisfied, because this correction officer, this captain who took an oath to protect the inmates and provide safety for the inmates is still working for the Correction Department,” McCall said.

Correction Department officials said an internal investigation into the case was continuing. They declined to respond to specific questions about Hillman and the allegations against her. She could face up to four years in prison if found guilty.

“Your job was to make sure everyone was safe — to protect the people,” Manson said. “I wish you would have done your job, and my brother would have still been here. What made her not intervene?”

After Wilson’s death, prosecutors said, Hillman provided falsified official documents about what happened. A New York Times analysis of recently released data found that lying on officials records was common among correction officers who had been disciplined over a 20-month period, with more than half providing false or incomplete information.

Rojo was not charged with a crime. He tried to help Wilson but was stopped by Hillman, Pinczewski said.

Wilson’s death was startlingly similar to an attempted suicide on Rikers Island in 2019. In that case, the detainee, Nicholas Feliciano, hanged himself in his cell with a piece of clothing.

Guards looked on for seven minutes before entering his cell. Feliciano survived. Five correction officers and a captain were suspended in that case, but no one has been charged.