FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Thursday, June 4th, 2026
Contact: Yonah Zeitz: yonah@katalcenter.org • 347-201-2769
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Senate Confirms Alexander Dockery as Commissioner on State Commission of Correction, New York’s Jail and Prison Watchdog Agency
Dockery is First Known Formerly Incarcerated Person to Sit on Oversight Commission, Fulfilling a Requirement Passed into Law by a Statewide Reform Coalition
Directly Impacted People and Community Groups Applaud this Historic Appointment, Call on Gov. Hochul to Fill the Agency’s Remaining Two Vacancies with Reform-Oriented Commissioners
ALBANY, NY – Today, the New York Senate confirmed Alexander Dockery as a part-time Commissioner to the State Commission of Correction (SCOC), New York’s jail and prison oversight agency. Mr. Dockery becomes the first formerly incarcerated person to be appointed to the SCOC.
Last year, directly impacted people and a coalition of more than 160 community, advocacy, and faith-based organizations organized to get the legislature to pass, and Gov. Hochul signed the Jail and Prison Oversight Omnibus Bill to overhaul the SCOC. The reforms to the SCOC were originally proposed by Assemblymember Gallagher and Senator Salazar. On Saturday, May 9th, key reforms to the SCOC, which were part of last year’s Prison Oversight Omnibus Bill, took effect – expanding the number of commissioners from three to five and requiring a diversity of backgrounds, including at least one formerly incarcerated commissioner. Today’s confirmation meets the new diversity requirements and fills one of the three vacant positions on the five-member commission, which allows the SCOC to have a quorum. With three commissioners on the SCOC, there remains two vacant seats (one full-time and one part-time).
The SCOC is mandated with the constitutional authority to ensure that correctional facilities across New York – all local jails and state prisons – are “safe, stable, and humane.” The SCOC’s wide-ranging authority includes the power to shut down any correctional facilities (including Rikers) for consistently violating the rights of incarcerated people. The SCOC has consistently failed to meet its responsibility, and incarcerated people across New York have suffered the consequences. The brutal murders of Robert Brooks in 2024, and Messiah Nantwi in 2025, highlight gross failures of the commission to fulfill its oversight responsibilities. The commission has similarly failed in meeting its mandate for local jails across the state, as underscored by the deadly conditions at Rikers Island Jail Complex.
Greater oversight is needed to improve conditions and save lives in jails and prisons across New York. Today’s nomination is a critical step in the right direction, and the coalition looks forward to working with Mr. Dockery to ensure the SCOC uses its wide-ranging authority to improve conditions, save lives, and, where necessary, shut down facilities that are out of compliance with state law. Now, Governor Hochul must fill the remaining two SCOC vacancies with reform-oriented individuals.
Quotes from elected officials, community groups, and impacted community members:
State Senator Julia Salazar, Chair of the Senate Crime, Crime Victims, and Correction Committee, said: “Today’s confirmation of Alexander Dockery, as a Commissioner on the State Commission of Correction is historic. Mr. Dockery is the first formerly incarcerated person to be appointed to the agency at a critical time when strengthening oversight is desperately needed. New York’s jails and prisons have had a systemic pattern of violence and abuse for decades, with little to no oversight. The SCOC was designed to provide oversight but has lacked the capacity and diverse expertise to do so. The Prison Reform Omnibus Bill rightfully expanded and diversified the Commission to address this problem. Now, we have a commissioner with lived experience who is committed to ensuring the SCOC fulfills its constitutional mandate to ensure that all local jails and state prisons are safe, stable, and humane. We thank the directly impacted members of the Katal Center and the statewide coalition of over 160 community, advocacy, and faith-based organizations who worked tirelessly to ensure the implementation of last year’s reforms. However, the work does not end here. There are still two vacancies in the SCOC that must fill with reform-oriented people.”
Assemblymember Michaelle Solanges, Chair of the New York State Black, Puerto Rican, Hispanic, and Asian Legislative Caucus, said: “The confirmation of Alexander Dockery to the State Commission of Correction is a historic step toward strengthening oversight and accountability within New York’s correctional system. This appointment brings an important perspective to one of the state’s key oversight bodies and reflects years of advocacy from directly impacted individuals and communities. The Black, Puerto Rican, Hispanic, and Asian Legislative Caucus is grateful to the Katal Center and its members for their unwavering commitment to this effort and for helping elevate the voices of those most affected by our justice system. While this is an important milestone, our work continues as we advance reforms that promote transparency, accountability, and humane conditions throughout New York’s correctional facilities.”
Assemblymember Emily Gallagher said: “Today’s confirmation is a triumph for Mr. Dockery, people who have been impacted by the system, and those of us who have been working for years or decades to reform a broken carceral system in New York. Senator Salazar and I fought to pass the SCOC reform bill to ensure that it included a formerly incarcerated commissioner because we understand that this representation matters–only someone who has experienced the Kafkaesque nature of our state prison system can help to make the types of reforms necessary to protect incarcerated people from the violence, humiliation, and indignity that so often characterizes incarceration. Mr. Dockery has accomplished a tremendous amount, despite these circumstances, and it is an honor to lift him up and celebrate his success today.”
Kevin Valentine, member of the Katal Center for Equity, Health, and Justice, said: “As someone who has been incarcerated in New York State Prisons and at the deadly Rikers Island Jail Complex, this is a historic moment for me to have the first formerly incarcerated person appointed to the State Commission of Correction. This is a person who, like me, understands the horrors unfolding in jails and prisons across New York and feels the responsibility to address them. Alexander Dockery has managed to survive over 20 years in prison and managed to obtain a B.A. and a Master’s degree, which shows his ability to adapt and learn. These traits will be needed for him to be an effective commissioner tasked with addressing systemic dysfunction in the state prison and city jails. I congratulate Alexander Dockery and look forward to working with the commissioner to increase oversight and accountability.
Now that the State Commission of Correction has a quorum, it must move expeditiously to shut down the Rikers Island Jail Complex. Governor Hochul now has two more seats to fill at the State Commission of Correction, and she must appoint reform-oriented commissioners.”
Ziyadah Amatul-Matin, member of the Katal Center for Equity, Health, and Justice, said: “We/I as family members who have incarcerated loved ones, sleep differently while they continue to face horrific conditions in jails and prisons across New York. That is precisely why we organized to overhaul the State Commission of Correction to ensure that they meet their mandate of protecting the constitutional rights of incarcerated people. I am proud that as a result of our community, we now have the first formerly incarcerated commissioner at the State Commission of Correction.
Now, the Governor must appoint two reform-oriented commissioners to fill the vacancies. The State Commission of Correction must be at full capacity because this is what this moment demands.”
Sharon McLennon Wier, Ph.D., MSEd., CRC, LMHC, Executive Director of CIDNY, said: “The Center for Independence of the Disabled, New York (CIDNY) is pleased to witness the appointment of Mr. Alexander Dockery’s to the State Commission of Correction (SCOC). This appointment of a formerly incarcerated person to a very important commission is necessary to ensure the human rights and dignity for all people housed in New York State prisons and jails. Thank you to Senator Salazar and the Senate for their leadership during this nomination process. CIDNY requests for the immediate appointment for the two remaining vacancies filled. We demand for the appointment of a person with a disability to better reflect the population of inmates with disabilities living in New York State prisons and jails. People with disabilities live in prisons and jails too, and they must have their disability related accommodations given to them while housed in these prisons and jails. We call on Governor Hochul to fill the last two appointments with reform-oriented people and provide universal access for all.”
Dr. Shakira Kennedy, the Executive Director of the National Association of Social Workers New York Chapter, said: “Alexander Dockery’s confirmation is a long-overdue recognition that the people most affected by our correctional system have a place at the table overseeing it. NASW-NY thanks Senator Salazar for her leadership in demanding reform-oriented appointments, and we’re proud to stand with the coalition that made this moment possible.”
Serena Martin, Executive Director of New Hour for Women and Children, said: “The appointment of a formerly incarcerated person to the SCOC is more than a milestone— It recognizes that lived experience is a form of expertise and that the strongest solutions emerge when those who have navigated the justice system are included in shaping its future. This appointment sends a message of hope, accountability, and possibility: that redemption is real, that transformation deserves recognition, and that leadership can arise from resilience. Firsthand experience, that we, formerly incarcerated leaders have, allows the SCOC to gain perspective to strengthen advocacy for those currently incarcerated, promote more informed decision-making, and contribute to policies that protect vulnerable populations while advancing a more just, humane, and effective criminal justice systems.”
Anthony Maund, Member of the Katal Center for Equity, Health, and Justice: “What a momentous moment to have a formerly incarcerated person be appointed for the first time ever as a commissioner of the State Commission of Correction. As someone who has been incarcerated, knowing that someone who has been in my shoes is in the position to fight for the constitutional rights of people incarcerated in jails and prisons across the state. Governor Hochul should now turn her attention to appointing the two additional reform-oriented commissioners as required by the law. This will increase oversight and accountability at a moment where it is most needed.”
King Downing, director of the Healing Justice Program NY/NJ of the American Friends Service Committee (AFSC), said: “It should be a no-brainer going back years that diversity and inclusion would require a formerly incarcerated person to be appointed to the SCOC. It should not take the combined efforts of hundreds of community and advocacy organizations, and we call on the governor to finish the appointments and for SCOC to move forward with a ‘new attitude.’”
Emily NaPier Singletary, Co-Executive Director of Unchained, said: “We congratulate Alexander Dockery on his historic appointment as the first formerly incarcerated person to serve as a Commissioner on the New York State Commission of Correction. For far too long, the SCOC has failed to fulfill its constitutional mandate to provide meaningful oversight of the state’s jails and prisons, and we look forward to a new era of accountability that Mr. Dockery’s appointment helps usher in. While this is a celebratory moment, it is dampened by Governor Hochul’s failure to nominate people to fill the remaining two vacancies on the SCOC. We thank Senator Julia Salazar for her leadership in ensuring that the Senate sent a strong message to Governor Hochul around the need to fill the vacancies with reform-oriented people and for confirming Mr. Dockery expeditiously as the first step in that process. We look forward to continuing to work with the coalition of more than 160 organizations that spearheaded the campaign to strengthen the SCOC to ensure that it lives up to its promise.”
Reverend Jim Ketcham, Chaplaincy Certification Coordinator of the NYS Council of Churches, said: “The NYS Council of Churches supports Governor Hochul’s nomination of Alexander Dockery to serve on the State Commission of Corrections. Dockery is a formerly incarcerated individual who earned multiple degrees while he was incarcerated for 23 years. His sentence was granted clemency by Governor Hochul in 2023.
The appointment of a formerly incarcerated person to the SCOC is a historic achievement and a testament to the 160+ community, advocacy, and faith-based groups who worked to get this bill passed last year. The Council of Churches and its allies look forward to working with the new commissioner to ensure greater oversight and accountability. We give thanks to the NYS Senate and Sen. Salazar in particular, for their leadership in this nomination process. They made it clear to the governor that they would only confirm reform-oriented people and would end the status quo of only appointing former law enforcement personnel to the SCOC.
We note that Gov. Hochul dragged out the nomination process to the very end, and left two additional vacancies on the SCOC unfilled. Last year, the governor insisted she would be the only person to nominate members of the commission but she has failed to perform her duties. To ensure greater oversight and accountability, the governor must fill these last two appointments with reform-oriented people and do so quickly.”
Shureen Harris, member of the Katal Center for Equity, Health, and Justice, said: “So many families like mine who had a loved one incarcerated have fought for this historic moment. Thanks to the work that we did as a community to demand an increase in jail and prison oversight, we now have the first formerly incarcerated commissioner take space at the State Commission of Correction. For decades, this independent government agency has had commissioners with a background in law enforcement. This is now changing with the appointment of Alexander Dockery.
Now the Governor is responsible for appointing two additional reform-oriented commissioners. Filling these seats is critical for me, my family, and the countless families across New York with loved ones behind bars. We need more commissioners who will prioritize the health, safety, and dignity of incarcerated people and ensure meaningful oversight of our state’s jails and prisons.”
Yonah Zeitz, advocacy director of the Katal Center for Equity, Health, and Justice: “Today’s historic appointment of Alexander Dockery is a testament to the collective organizing of directly impacted people and our coalition of over 160 organizations across the state who demanded greater oversight and accountability. Last year, in response to crises and deadly conditions in jails and prisons across New York, we organized to overhaul the State Commission of Correction, NY’s independent watchdog agency, to ensure it meets its constitutional mandate. Our members and coalition partners made it clear that we need to appoint a formerly incarcerated person appointed to the commission, and now we’ve done it. This is a historic moment for the entire movement. We look forward to working with Commissioner Dockery to address the deadly conditions at Rikers, Marcy, and every facility in between.
We thank the original bill sponsors, Assemblymember Emily Gallagher and Senator Julia Salazar, and Corrections Committee Chair Dilan, for their commitment to bringing greater oversight and accountability to jails and prisons across New York. We also thank the Senate for holding the line and ensuring we got a reform-oriented candidate appointed to the SCOC. There is still more work to be done as Governor Hochul unnecessarily waited until the final days of the legislative session to begin filling the vacancies on the SCOC. With two vacancies remaining, the commission is hamstrung at a time when greater, not less, oversight is needed. The governor must fulfill her commitments and immediately appoint two more reform-oriented commissioners to the SCOC. Lives are at stake, and there is no time to waste.”
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