By Waheedah Abdul-Mateen and Ziyadah Amatul-Matin
We write this together as two mothers, and as a mother and daughter, whose lives have been irreversibly shaped by New York State’s prison system. Across two generations, we have each watched our sons suffer behind prison walls – brutalized by a broken system and often by the hands of correctional officers. Earlier this year, compelled by families like ours, the state legislature passed an omnibus bill to strengthen oversight and accountability of prisons and jails in New York. And now we’re calling on Governor Kathy Hochul, mother to mother, to sign it.
Our family’s trauma began with the death of our son and brother, Ramadan Mubarak Ibn Abdul-Mateen, who died at Wende Correctional Facility after being denied the medical care he urgently needed. While incarcerated, he faced so much abuse at the hands of correctional officers throughout his time there. There were two Sergeants, one of which has been promoted to captain, who were responsible for giving the orders for the abuse and neglect of Ramadan. He would still be with us today if he had received the proper medical help he needed. Burying a child is a pain that never leaves you, and losing him in this horrific way is a wound that will never heal. This grief we will carry with us for as long as we live.
As we mourn Ramadan, we are also living with daily fear for another loved one: Our son and grandson, who remains incarcerated. He is facing the exact hostile conditions that Ramadan endured. He has been starved, medically neglected, and physically abused. On February 27, he and other incarcerated individuals were severely beaten by correctional emergency response team at Midstate Correctional Facility. They were then immediately put in solitary confinement, where we had no way of communicating. That is why every day we make sure to speak with him to confirm he is still safe.
The harm our family has endured is not the result of an isolated incident; countless other families are also grieving. In the past year, we witnessed the brutal murders of Robert Brooks in Marcy Correctional Facility, and Messiah Nantwi in Midstate Correctional Facility. Both were beaten to death by correctional officers. Just days before Messiah Nantwi was murdered in Midstate, our son and grandson was beaten in that same prison. This is a product of a racist system with no real accountability.
No family in New York should have to bury a child due to state violence or wonder each day if their loved one is safe behind prison walls. The criminal legal system is harming so many families, like ours, and reform is urgently needed. Without oversight and accountability, we will continue to lose our loved ones.
Governor Hochul has the chance to do the right thing today by signing the omnibus reform bill passed by the legislature earlier this year. The omnibus bill is a package with many important reform pieces. We are focused on section H of this bill package, which would overhaul the State Commission of Correction (SCOC). The SCOC is an independent body mandated with the constitutional authority to ensure that correctional facilities across New York – all local jails and state prisons – are “safe, stable and humane.” But over the last 20 years, the SCOC has failed to do its job. The proposed reforms would expand the commission from three to nine members and diversify appointments by requiring members with backgrounds in public health, behavioral healthcare, prisoner’s rights litigation, and personal experiences of incarceration. This would strengthen the commission to fulfill its constitutional responsibilities to ensure that correctional facilities are “safe, stable, and humane”.
The SCOC has the power to conduct inspections, obtain information from correctional staff, examine DOCCS documentation and medical records, and issue subpoenas. A revamped SCOC could do what families like ours cannot: investigate and hold jails and prisons accountable before more lives are lost.
Governor Hochul, as mothers and grandmothers, we implore you: sign this bill now. Families should not have to fear that their loved ones will be harmed, denied care, or forgotten behind prison walls.
Sign this bill for our children, our grandchildren, and for every family who deserves to know their loved ones are safe, treated with dignity, and given the chance to return home alive.
Waheedah Abdul-Mateen and Ziyadah Amatul-Matin are members of the Katal Center for Equity, Health, and Justice.
