Attorney: Jail stay is putting rapper Kafani’s health in danger
DUBLIN >> In the nine days since a federal judge jailed him for violating a pretrial release condition, the health of Bay Area rapper Amir Rashad, aka Kafani, has been deteriorating, according to his attorney who argued in court the conditions amount to cruel and unusual punishment.
The 39-year-old Rashad, who also goes by Mark Django Hicks, is paralyzed from the waist down from a 2013 shooting. His attorney, Kathryn Elizabeth Ross, said in court Friday morning that the care at Santa Rita Jail in Dublin — where Rashad is housed while facing charges of conspiracy to commit identity theft — is ill-equipped to house him, given his condition.
Ross and the federal prosecutor on the case have discussed the possibility of moving Rashad to a federal jail in Los Angeles if it is ultimately determined that Santa Rita is unable to take proper care of him, both attorneys said in court Friday.
Within hours, the Alameda
County Sheriff’s Office refuted Ross’ claims, claiming that jail staff examined Rashad on Friday afternoon and his current conditions “are meeting and exceeding all requirements,” a sheriff’s spokesman said in an interview.
Rashad has been incarcerated at the jail since Feb. 28, when U.S. Magistrate Judge Joseph Spero ruled a video Rashad had posted to Instagram had violated the conditions of his pretrial release. In the video, Rashad accused his ex-girlfriend of being a federal informant, which prosecutors argued put the woman’s life in danger. Spero agreed it was a “serious” violation, but indicated he is open to releasing Rashad sometime down the line.
Ross has argued that locking Rashad up is a disproportionate response to the video. On Friday, before federal Judge Donna Ryu, Ross said Rashad’s first week at the jail gave her concern the jail was violating Rashad’s constitutional rights under the Eighth Amendment, which forbids cruel and unusual punishment.
“He’s somebody that requires 24-hour care. As of yesterday, he hadn’t even been given a shower,” Ross said. She said Rashad had already developed bed sores and that staff was checking on him only every four hours, resulting in other health issues.
“He’s not getting any kind of movement in his legs,” she added.
Reached for comment on the allegations Thursday, Alameda County sheriff’s Sgt. Ray Kelly said he was doubtful of the claims but that the office would look into it.
“I will make sure medical staff is advised, and (Rashad) can file a grievance against us and if those allegations are true, they would immediately be addressed. Even if they’re not true, we’re gonna address them today,” Kelly said. He later added, “I think given the concern over jails in general and these allegations, we’ll take this very seriously.”
Two hours later, Kelly said that a team of jail staff had inspected Rashad’s housing situation and interviewed him. He said Rashad had access to care around the clock and that, “his room is right across the hallway from the nurse’s office.”
“They were on it like white on rice,” Kelly said. “They went in there with medical staff, asked questions, and this is absolutely unmerited, not true. It is a false allegation.”
Kelly said the sheriff’s office also contacted the U.S. Marshal Service, given that it was a federal case, and briefed them on the issue.
Rashad was charged with conspiring, along with three co-defendants, last month. The federal government secured a superseding indictment on a lone conspiracy charge last week. On top of that, Rashad faces potential legal consequences, because it is alleged he committed identity theft while out on supervised release for a 2015 fraud-related federal conviction, for which Rashad served a 39-month sentence.
On social media before he was jailed, Rashad called the charges against him “bulls—” and “lies” and said the media was smearing him.