NEW YORK (WKBW) — New York Governor Kathy Hochul announced she reached an agreement with the NYS Legislature on a prison reform bill that would improve safety, security and accountability.
According to the governor's office, based on the agreement, the legislation will:
- Require State and local correctional facilities to disclose video footage related to deaths to the Office of the Attorney General (OAG) within 72 hours, or within 24 hours if it is belatedly discovered.
- Require complete audio/visual camera coverage in all Department of Correction and Community Supervision (DOCCS) facilities and transport vehicles, extended storage of videos, and quick disclosure of the videos to incarcerated individuals and their counsel.
- Require DOCCS post online within 48 hours of notifying next of kin of an incarcerated individual’s death.
- Require the State Commission of Correction to conduct a study on DOCCS deaths over the past ten years.
- Require copies of autopsy reports of individuals incarcerated in state or local facilities, to include copies of the photographs and x-rays.
- Provide for designation of a Deputy AG when OAG has a conflict.
- Require DOCCS Office of Special Investigation (OSI) to quarterly report data.
- Increase the number of SCOC commissioners from three to five total, including three full-time and two part-time members, with at least one of the commissioners being a formerly-incarcerated person.
- Give the Correctional Association of New York (CANY) more access to DOCCS facilities and data and give incarcerated individuals more avenues to privately access CANY.
- Provide a window post-incarceration for individuals to file claims arising from harms caused during incarceration.
The governor said DOCCS previously began implementing reforms, including fully deploying body-worn cameras statewide.
“Every single individual who enters our prisons deserves to be safe, whether they are employed there or serving their time. In the year since the murder of Robert Brooks, we have implemented a number of new policies and initiatives to begin the process of reforming our corrections system: expediting the installation and use of fixed and body worn cameras, making it law that body worn cameras must be worn and turned on, and investing more money in the Office of Special Investigations. I have been clear that there is more to do and I am grateful to the Legislature and the family of Robert Brooks for advocating for these reforms and working together to ensure that we could sign this important legislation to advance these reforms together. Our work is never done, and I will not stop working to ensure our correctional facilities are safe for all.”
- Gov. Hochul
“In the wake of the horrific murders of Robert Brooks and Messiah Nantwi at the hands of correctional staff, the Department has undertaken the difficult but necessary work of reform focused on strengthening safety, transparency, and accountability across our system. With the signing of the omnibus bill, the Governor and the Legislature affirm my shared commitment to sustained, meaningful action. Taken together with the steps we have already implemented, this legislation positions the Department to move decisively forward. We are committed not to symbolic change, but to meaningful, lasting reform that focuses on dignity and respect for all.”
- New York State Department of Corrections and Community Supervision Commissioner Daniel F Martuscello III
New York State Correctional Officers & Police Benevolent Association (NYSCOPBA) released this statement regarding the signing of the prison reform bill:
"NYSCOPBA is deeply disappointed that the Governor has signed the Corrections Omnibus Bill into law. The death of Robert Brooks was a profound tragedy and meaningful reforms to ensure that never happens again must be made. However, we cannot support legislation that responds to a single tragedy by imposing broad, punitive oversight on thousands of dedicated corrections professionals who had no role in it and who are already under constant surveillance and scrutiny.
The death of Robert Brooks should be a catalyst for smart, collaborative reform, not rushed measures that assume guilt on the part of all correctional staff. The individuals responsible were held accountable through the judicial system — as they should have been. It is unfair and counterproductive to use their misconduct as the basis for sweeping new burdens and disciplinary structures that will undermine morale, complicate operations, and worsen the ongoing staffing crisis.
If New York State is truly committed to improving the correctional system, it must start by listening to the voices of the men and women who serve inside these facilities every day. Our members know firsthand where outdated policies fail and where system improvements are urgently needed. Policies from the 1980s and 1990s are no longer effective for the realities of today's environment.
By signing this bill, the Governor has missed an opportunity to engage in thoughtful, collaborative reform that brings DOCCS and New York State forward. NYSCOPBA will continue to fight for the rights, dignity, and due process of our members and pursue all available paths to ensure their voices are heard in shaping the future of corrections."
Director of Public Relations, James Miller
In February, corrections officers across New York State took part in a wildcat strike over what they claimed were unsafe working conditions inside state prisons. You can find more of our coverage of the strike here.
