Gov. Kathy Hochul to push for prison reform after death of inmate

ALBANY — Gov. Kathy Hochul and legislators are beginning to craft what may be the most extensive prison reform in decades after the release of a video that shows a prisoner beaten by correctional officers, which this week was ruled a homicide.

The State Legislature’s Democratic leaders and the union representing correctional officers now say they, too, seek reforms.

On Tuesday, the Onondaga County Medical Examiner’s Office determined that the Dec. 10 death of Robert Brooks, 43, who was beaten while handcuffed in the Marcy Correctional Facility, was a homicide. A criminal investigation is underway in the incident that has already resulted in the suspension without pay of 13 correctional officers and a nurse.

Hochul has called for several reforms including more funding for body cameras and independent reviews of the state Department of Corrections and Community Supervision as a result of the incident. The reforms also seek to improve short staffing at prisons and safety for correctional officers who also face assaults in prisons.

Hochul is starting to negotiate the state budget, which is due by April 1, and related legislation during the six-month legislative session that began last month.

"Every single individual who enters a DOCCS facility deserves to be safe, whether they are employed there or serving their time," Hochul said in a written statement announcing her proposal. "The system failed Mr. Brooks, and I will not be satisfied until there has been significant culture change."

Among her proposals is creating a new unit called The Future of Prisons in New York State that would create a strategy for safer prisons for inmates and workers, develop more training for correctional officers, develop a plan to overcome staffing shortages and project the prison population over the next 20 years. The unit also would evaluate the impact on communities around prisons as the state continues to close the facilities as their populations decline.

Some reforms have already been endorsed by the Democratic leaders of the State Senate and Assembly.

"I’m sure there will be a look at not only Marcy, but the culture that appears to be very much part of that place," said Senate Majority Leader Andrea Stewart-Cousins in a news conference. "I’m sure there will be hearings."

Assembly Speaker Carl Heastie has also called for a widespread review of the system along with advocates for prisoners.

Jennifer Scaife, of the Correctional Association of New York, pointed to increased use of body cameras as a needed change.

“This tragedy must result in the implementation of this overdue reform,” Scaife said in a written statement. “This moment demands a fundamental shift in culture inside correctional facilities and requires a commitment to transparency, accountability and lasting change at all levels.” 

The group regularly documents abuses in prisons, including several incidents in recent years at Marcy before Brooks’ death.

The union that represents correctional officers also seeks change.

While calling the assault on Brooks "indefensible," the union urges caution in developing legislation.

"What we do support is a comprehensive approach to address the violence inside our prisons that have reached epidemic levels," said James Miller, spokesman for the New York State Correctional Officers & Police Benevolent Association union.

"Officers, and the incarcerated they are responsible for … need practical solutions from all stakeholders to address the violence in our prisons and the safety of both staff and inmates," Miller said in a written statement to Newsday. "Any rash and hasty legislation will not address the deep-rooted problems of violence, it may only exacerbate it."

Hochul’s proposals include:

• Expediting a plan to spend more than $400 million to buy and equip fixed cameras and body cameras at all 42 prisons in the state. The state has already changed policy to require employees to activate body cameras when in contact with prisoners. Body cameras weren’t activated during Brooks’ beating. The video came from one camera that was recording, without sound, on "passive" mode.
• Spending $2 million to help the Correctional Association of New York expand its independent monitoring and oversight of prisons. The association was created in 1844 and incorporated by the legislature in 1846 to improve prison conditions and assist prisoners to get jobs once they are released. Additionally, the system will engage with a program at the University of California at San Francisco and national companies to review the "culture, patterns and practices" at all prisons.
• Hiring more staff to handle complaints and issue sanctions and assigning senior leaders to all shifts.

With Keisha Clukey

By Michael Gormley

michael.gormley@newsday.com@GormleyAlbany

Michael Gormley has worked for Newsday since 2013, covering state government, politics and issues. He has covered Albany since 2001.