FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
September 30, 2026
Contact: Yonah Zeitz: 347-201-2768 yonah@katalcenter.org
Follow online: @katalcenter | #ShutRikers | shutrikers.org
At its September Meeting, New York’s Watchdog Agency for Jails and Prisons Refuses to Address the Various Crises Unfolding in Jails and Prisons Across the State
With Youth Being Mistreated at OFSC Facilities, Overdose Deaths Increasing in State Prisons, Deaths at Rikers, and a Lack of Accountability in the Nassau County Jail, the State Commission on Correction is Failing its Mandate
New York, NY – Today, at 11 am, the State Commission of Correction (SCOC), New York’s jail and prison watchdog agency, held their September monthly meeting. The public portion of today’s meeting lasted 21 minutes. Once again, the SCOC failed to address the multiple crises unfolding in local jails and state prisons. Katal members, including people who have been incarcerated or have incarcerated loved ones, attended the meeting in-person.
At the meeting, the SCOC reported that in a recent site visit to the Horizon Juvenile Detention Center in NYC, they found that “youth housed in a classroom area were recently found to be urinating/defecating in garbage bags due to inadequate bathroom access.” The facility was found in violation of dozens of the agency’s minimum standards, yet the SCOC approved the facility’s recertification. Allowing youth to remain in these dangerous and inhumane conditions.
The state prison system also remains in crisis. Overdose deaths are increasing, and the use of Narcan in state prisons increased by 51% last year. Simultaneously, incarcerated people are getting limited out-of-cell time, and programming has not fully returned since the CO’s illegal wildcat strike last year. Yet, the SCOC has failed to use its power to address these dire conditions.
Local jails are no better. In Nassau County, news broke that the county jail is lacking proper oversight even though it has a long history of poor conditions, excessive force by CO’s, and deaths. In NYC, Rikers Island remains deadly and dangerous. In 2018, the Commission called for the closure of Rikers, but has yet to take any meaningful action to achieve the aim, even as the toll of deaths rises and conditions worsen. At least 8 people have died in DOC custody this year. A new report from the City’s Board of Corrections found that John Price, who died at Rikers in March after waiting three and a half hours in a holding pen with clear signs of medical distress, died because the CO’s failed to inform the medical staff about the medical emergency. The SCOC’s failure to stop the deaths and advance the closure of Rikers highlights the gross inadequacy of this oversight agency.
As New York’s jails, juvenile facilities, and prisons remain embattled with preventable deaths, violence, and overuse of isolation, it’s clear that greater oversight, not less, is needed to improve conditions and save lives.
Quotes from Katal Center members and staff:
Ziyadah Amatul-Matin, member of the Katal Center, said: “As a mother and someone who lost my brother while he was incarcerated because of physical abuse and medical neglect, I know firsthand the devastating toll that incarceration can take on families. We cannot continue to accept death, violence, medical neglect, and abuse as the status quo in New York’s jails and prisons. At least eight people have died in NYC Department of Correction custody this year, and each death represents a family left to grieve and ask whether their loved one could have been saved. The State Commission of Correction has a constitutional responsibility to ensure that people in custody are held in safe, stable, and humane conditions. The SCOC must use its authority to hold facilities accountable and take action when they fail to protect people’s lives. This is not the time for inaction. Governor Hochul must also fill the two vacancies on the Commission with reform-oriented leaders who will take this responsibility seriously.”
Leroy Lightborne, member of the Katal Center for Equity, Health and Justice, said: “Today’s SCOC monthly meeting was both encouraging and deeply disappointing. I’m encouraged that we had the opportunity to meet the three Commissioners and hear them respond to questions about oversight. But it is unacceptable that the Commission remains two members short of the five Commissioners required by law and continues to fail to meet its mandate. The SCOC cannot simply approve construction and variances for correctional facilities while failing to fully exercise its oversight responsibilities. Lives are at stake. New Yorkers—including our formerly incarcerated members and family members of people who are incarcerated—are counting on this watchdog agency to act with urgency and hold correctional systems accountable for the conditions behind bars.”
Yonah Zeitz, advocacy director of the Katal Center for Equity, Health, and Justice: “From Marcy Prison to Rikers Island, jails and prisons across New York face crises and dangerous conditions for incarcerated people. The State Commission of Correction, New York’s independent watchdog agency, must use its broad authority to address conditions behind bars and save lives. No longer can this agency sit idly by while incarcerated people face death, violence, medical neglect, and abuse behind bars. At least 8 people have died in NYC jails this year alone. The SCOC cannot just approve construction and variances for correctional facilities; it must fulfill its constitutional oversight mandate; lives are at stake. New Yorkers, including our members who are formerly incarcerated and family members of those incarcerated, are looking for this watchdog agency to act aggressively to address the dire conditions behind bars.”
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