FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Monday, November 24th, 2025
Contact: Yonah Zeitz: yonah@katalcenter.org • 347-201-2769
Follow on socials @KatalCenter • #ShutRikers #CutShutInvestNY
New York Times Investigation Reveals Increasing Violence and Abuse by Prison Guards in NYS Prisons, Heightening Demand for Gov. Hochul to Sign Key Jail and Prison Oversight Legislation
New York, NY: Today, the New York Times published a major 2-part investigative report, Why Are Guards Using Force More Often in New York’s Prisons? and Restrained, Beaten, Asphyxiated: New York Prison Guard’s Brutality Grows, showing egregious assaults and abuse on incarcerated people at the hands of correctional officers has significantly increased over the past three years. The brutal killings of Robert Brooks and Messiah Nantwi at Marcy and Mid-State prisons underscore the violence and abuse incarcerated people face in New York State’s prison system.
As the crisis in New York State prisons worsens and the abuse continues to rise, a reform proposal sits on the desk of Gov. Kathy Hochul. In June, the New York Legislature passed a Jail and Prison Oversight Omnibus Bill, S.8415 (Salazar)/A.8871 (Dilan), that includes overhauling the government watchdog—the State Commission of Correction—with authority over local jails and state prisons, including Marcy and Mid-State Prison. But Gov. Hochul has yet to take action on the legislation.
Statement from Yonah Zeitz, advocacy of the Katal Center for Equity, Health, and Justice: “For too long, incarcerated people in New York State prisons have suffered abuse and violence at the hands of correctional officers. This new analysis affirms what our directly impacted members and families have long known: that the brutal murders of Robert Brooks and Messiah Nantwi were not outliers but jarring examples of the violence regularly inflicted on incarcerated people. This highlights how the State Commission of Correction (SCOC), the independent government watchdog, with authority over local jails and state prisons, is utterly failing at its responsibility to keep incarcerated people safe. The SCOC is in dire need of an overhaul. Right now, there is legislation to increase jail and prison oversight, including reforming the SCOC, that awaits Gov. Hochul’s signature. Lives are at stake, and there’s no time to waste. This investigative series should compel Gov. Hochul to immediately sign the omnibus reform bill now sitting on her desk.”
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