Gov. Kathy Hochul signed a long-sought package of prison reform bills into law Friday,
calling it “landmark” legislation that would improve safety for staff and incarcerated
people alike. But days later, the scope and significance of the measure is still being
fiercely debated, with some advocates saying that while it amounts to real progress, it
falls well short of the systemic overhaul New York’s troubled prison system desperately
needs.
The omnibus legislation, approved by the State Legislature earlier this year, makes ten
changes to state law aimed at increasing transparency and accountability inside state
prisons and local jails. It comes in the wake of the fatal beatings of Robert Brooks and
Messiah Nantwi by corrections officers at Marcy and Mid-State correctional facilities.
The Brooks killing was captured on body camera video by a group of four officers who
believed their cameras were turned off. The deaths shocked the public, reignited
demands for sweeping reform and led to multiple criminal charges of state correction
officers.
“Every single individual who enters our prisons deserves to be safe,” Hochul said in a
statement announcing the signing. “Our work is never done.”
Advocates largely agreed the bill represents progress but said it leaves intact too much of
the power structure that has allowed abuse to persist for decades. The bills do not
include any changes to the state prison system’s maligned disciplinary system or new
avenues to reduce the population behind bars.
“This is a serious step forward, but it is not the end of our struggle,” said state Sen. Julia
Salazar (D-Brooklyn), a prime sponsor of the legislation. “The final package does not
include everything we sought.”
On Monday, the Brooklyn lawmaker pushed back on criticism circulating in activist
circles that the governor had hollowed out the bill during months of negotiations.
“Some folks hit me up after the signing of the bill, and they just kind of heard little bits
and pieces here and there, and they’re like, ‘Oh, we’re so upset the bill has been gutted,’”
Salazar told THE CITY. “And I’m like, you know, I’m not thrilled that any of it was
changed, but I can assure you, the bill has not been gutted.”
The new law mandates full audio and video camera coverage in all Department of
Corrections and Community Supervision (DOCCS) facilities and in vehicles used to
transport incarcerated people. The legislation also requires footage tied to deaths in
custody to be turned over to the state attorney general within 72 hours.
Additionally, it strengthens notification requirements for families after a prisoner dies
in custody, expands autopsy documentation and increases reporting obligations for the
department’s Office of Special Investigations.
One of the most contested provisions partially reshapes the State Commission of
Correction, the state watchdog with oversight authority over every jail and prison in
New York.
The commission will expand from three members to five and for the first time must
include a formerly incarcerated person, along with a commissioner with a health care or
prisoner-rights background.
“This acknowledges that the commission has failed its responsibility and is in dire need
of change,” said Yonah Zeitz of the Katal Center, which helped lead a coalition of more
than 160 organizations pushing for the overhaul.
The final deal, however, left Hochul with sole authority to make those appointments,
subject to Senate confirmation, abandoning earlier proposals that would have shared
appointment power with the Legislature or outside groups.
Advocates have long argued the commission was effectively sidelined by its limited size,
resources and insular makeup. They also pushed for the commission to be expanded to
eight members.
But Hochul nixed that proposal, citing an added cost of approximately $1 million a year,
according to Salazar.
At least one state lawmaker was upset that Hochul didn’t enact more sweeping changes.
“The bill we got is not the bill we fought for,” said Assemblymember Emily Gallagher
(D-Brooklyn). “The governor will own whether the commission is empowered to actually
do its job.”
Still, Corrections Commissioner Daniel F. Martuscello III said the reforms, combined
with steps already taken by DOCCS, position the department for “meaningful, lasting
change,” citing expanded body-worn camera deployment, new de-escalation training,
leadership changes at troubled facilities and additional resources for internal
investigations.
On the positive side, Salazar pointed to provisions she said remained fully intact,
particularly those designed to strengthen the state attorney general’s ability to
investigate deaths at the hands of correction officers and other law enforcement.
Attorney General Leticia James was forced to recuse herself and her office from probing
the Brooks and Nantwi deaths last year because her office was representing some
correction officers in separate unrelated lawsuits.
Under the legislation, a deputy attorney general from the same office will be tapped
whenever the AG has a conflict.
Another provision Salazar highlighted is the Terry Cooper Autopsy Accountability Act,
which she sponsored. The law requires more detailed autopsy reports when incarcerated
people die in state custody, including photographs and imaging, and mandates that
those materials be shared with oversight bodies such as the Correctional Medical Review
Board and the DOCCS commissioner.
The legislation is named after Terry Cooper, a man who was beaten to death by
correction officers in 2017 at Clinton Correctional Facility. At the time, Salazar said, the
autopsy report contained no photographs, allowing Cooper’s death to be
mischaracterized as resulting from natural causes.
“It was only years later, through a civil lawsuit brought by his family, that it became
clear he had been beaten to death,” Salazar said. That case ended with what was then the
largest civil settlement ever awarded in the Northern District — more than $9 million in
public funds — after no officers were criminally charged.
It wasn’t just prison reformers who were disappointed with the legislation.
Correction officers’ union leaders blasted the new laws, arguing Hochul overreacted to
isolated crimes by imposing new layers of oversight on a workforce they say is already
stretched thin and under constant scrutiny.
In a statement, the New York State Correctional Officers & Police Benevolent
Association said it was “deeply disappointed” the governor signed the omnibus bill, even
while acknowledging the gravity of Brooks’ death.
“The death of Robert Brooks was a profound tragedy and meaningful reforms to ensure
that never happens again must be made,” the union said in a statement. “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.”
Advocates counter that decades of deference to correctional staff concerns helped
entrench a culture where abuse went unchecked, and said the backlash underscores why
stronger external oversight is necessary.
“This is a first step,” said Serena Martin, executive director of New Hour for Women &
Children LI. “But New York’s prisons remain dangerous places, and there is far more
work to do.”