FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Tuesday, May 13, 2025
Contact: Yonah Zeitz, yonah@katalcenter.org • 347-201-2769
Follow on socials @KatalCenter • #ShutRikers
Senate Bill 856 (Salazar) Advances through Finance Committee
Community Groups in Albany to Demand Passage of SB856 to Increase Oversight & Accountability over Jails and Prisons Across New York
Albany, NY – Today, the New York State Senate Committee on Finance voted to advance S.856 (Salazar), which increases jail and prison oversight by expanding and strengthening the State Commission of Correction (SCOC).
With the recent killing of Robert Brooks and Messiah Nantwi in state prisons, and five deaths at Rikers this year, this is a critical moment. The State Commission on Correction 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 for more than 20 years the SCOC has consistently failed to meet its responsibility. That’s why nearly 100 community, faith, and advocacy organizations across the state are calling on legislators to fix the SCOC by ensuring it meets its mandate throughout the state.
This legislation, S856 (Salazar) /A2315 (Gallagher), will expand the number of commissioners from three to nine and distribute appointments among the Governor, the Senate, the Assembly, and the independent nonprofit, the Correctional Association of New York. The appointment requirements would guarantee a diversity of backgrounds, including in public health, behavioral healthcare, prisoner’s rights litigation, and personal experiences of incarceration. See this fact sheet for more information.
Support for this legislation is growing, and already, some progress has been made. In this year’s budget, the Legislature already increased the funding of the SCOC to $7.1 million – an increase of $3 million from last year’s budget – and strengthened oversight and accountability provisions. Now the Legislature must build on the reforms included in the budget and expand the SCOC by passing (S. 856)-Salazar / (A.2315)-Gallagher.
Quotes from elected officials, community groups, and impacted community members:
Senator Julia Salazar, Prime Bill Sponsor, said: “I’m thrilled that the Senate Finance Committee passed my bill to expand and diversify the State Commission of Correction. Robert Brooks and Messiah Nantwi were murdered by correction officers months ago, and yet there has been no substantial action to address the systemic abuse taking place in our prisons that led to their deaths. Expanding the SCOC would be a vital step toward increasing oversight and accountability. I was encouraged by Governor Hochul reaffirming her commitment to prison reform earlier this week, and so I urge the Senate and the Assembly to quickly pass this critical bill so we can send it to the Governor’s desk for her signature.”
Assemblymember Emily Gallagher, Prime Bill Sponsor, said: “New Yorkers are still reeling from the deaths of Robert Brooks and Messiah Nantwi, and we continue to wait for meaningful investments in prison and jail oversight. It is not enough to say we recognize the humanity of incarcerated people. We must act. The bill I carry with Senator Salazar would go a long way to advancing oversight and accountability in state correctional facilities. We have a short window left this session, and I urge Speaker Heastie and Chair Dilan to meet the moment and bring this bill to the floor for a vote.”
Tawana Atkins, Member of the Katal Center for Equity, Health, and Justice, said: “There are so many individuals detained in jails and prisons that have or currently are at risk of losing their lives. When my son was incarcerated at Rikers, I was constantly worried about his well-being. My heart goes out to all the parents who have lost their child at the hands of this cruel criminal legal system. That is why our families need urgent action, and I am grateful that the Senate Finance Committee has advanced the SCOC bill (S. 856/ A.2315). This is a necessary step to keep people safe who are detained at state correctional facilities and local jails like Rikers. They have the power to ensure that the constitutional rights of people detained are being protected, and if they aren’t, they can mandate that the facility be shut down. As is the need for Rikers Island, which for decades has violated people’s basic rights and must be shut down. Thank you. Now lawmakers must get the job done by passing this bill and sending it to the governor’s desk. Now lawmakers must get the job done by passing this bill and sending it to the governor’s desk.”
Sharon McLennon Wier Ph.D., MSEd., CRC, LMHC Executive Director, Center for Independence of the Disabled, New York (CIDNY), said: “The Center for Independence of the Disabled, New York (CIDNY) supports the passing of S.856. We thank the Senate Finance Committee for supporting this bill and we encourage the full senate to pass the bill. It is important to have additional members of the State Commission of Corrections. CIDNY believes that a member with a disability should be represented to truly reflect all residents who are currently incarcerated.”
Michael McQuillan, Member of the Social Justice Committee at the Brooklyn Heights Synagogue, said: “The Senate Finance Committee’s passage of S. 856 becomes a beacon light for the state’s at risk jail and prison populations since the bill if made law would mobilize an expanded expert State Commission on Corrections for mandatory field visits to ensure that humane treatment and conditions are made — at last — the norm. May the Assembly Corrections Committee now pass this bill as 90 faith, legal and advocacy groups have urged in writing — and may both Houses vigorously move it to favorable floor votes.”
Susan Lerner, Executive Director of Common Cause/NY, said: “Common Cause/NY applauds the New York State Senate and Assembly for recognizing the urgent need to strengthen oversight of our corrections system and invest in institutions that are more transparent and responsive to the public. These budget changes are a critical step toward real accountability — but Albany lawmakers still have work to do. We look forward to working with them to finish the job by passing the SCOC reform bill before the end of this session.”
Robin Lawrence, Member of the Katal Center for Equity, Health, and Justice, said: “For years, the men and women at Rikers Island have been neglected and violated of their rights as human beings. I have loved ones who have been incarcerated at Rikers, where they have failed to provide them with the proper medical attention and mental health care. This facility, like so many others across the state, is inhumane, and the people who are incarcerated there are suffering. Now more than ever, state-level reforms are needed to address this crisis and hold the New York City Mayor accountable for shutting down Rikers. I thank the Senate Finance Committee for passing the S856 / A2315 to diversify and expand the State Commission on Correction, but I urge the legislature to pass this bill immediately!”
King Downing, director of the Healing Justice program NY/NJ of the American Friends Service Committee, said: “I have said that ‘Sunlight is the best disinfectant’. Thanks to the senate for moving the SCOC bill out of committee. But the light cannot do its work until the legislature does its work – pass the SCOC bill now.”
Heidi Boghosian, Executive Director of the A.J. Muste Foundation for Peace and Justice, said: “The A.J. Muste Foundation—an enduring supporter of prison reform and independent oversight—is encouraged to see S.856 (Salazar) advance out of the Senate Finance Committee. We urge the full Senate to swiftly pass this critical legislation and call on the Assembly to move the bill forward from the Corrections Committee without delay.”
Danielle Lynn Shanks-Efuntosin, Member of the Katal Center for Equity, Health, and Justice, said: “In New York State, individuals behind bars who have a mental illness are not receiving the best treatment or proper supervision. My son, who has a mental illness, was sent to Rikers, and while detained there, he has been exposed to so many horrific conditions that have only exacerbated his mental health. The Department of Corrections does not have the adequate accommodations to treat someone who is suffering with a health condition. To make matters worse, individuals being held at a state jail or prison are subjected to horrible violence at the hands of correctional officers. Incarcerated people are being murdered, and their families are not getting the justice they deserve. It is sickening that these shattered facilities are allowed to operate when they should be shut down. I thank the members of the Senate Finance Committee for advancing the SCOC bill (S. 856/ A.2315), to strengthen the State Commission of Correction, an independent body with the power to shut correctional facilities failing to meet the basic standards of keeping incarcerated people safe; they must exercise this power.”
Amelia Scdoris, Community Organizer at Cabrini Immigrant Services of NYC, said: “We thank Senator Salazar and the Senate Finance Committee for advancing S. 856. This is a step toward making New York’s correctional facilities safer and more humane for all New Yorkers. We urge the Senate to now pass the bill, and the Assembly to move forward with A.2315 to ensure real oversight and change.” – Cabrini Immigrant Services of NYC
Lukee Forbes, We Are Revolutionary, said: “We cannot reform what we refuse to confront, the State Commission of Correction has failed for decades to protect the lives of our loved ones inside. Passing S.856 is not just a policy decision; it’s a moral imperative to bring transparency, accountability, and humanity to New York’s carceral system.”
Anthony Maund, Member of the Katal Center for Equity, Health, and Justice: “While I was incarcerated at a state correctional facility, I experienced first-hand the inhumane conditions that exist in jails and prisons across New York. I have had many situations where a correctional officer has been extremely heavy-handed and used physical force on me. I have filed grievances for these cases that were never heard, and there was no accountability. These are a few of the horrible conditions that many others experience while incarcerated in NYS, and it is not right. It is time for the dormant State Commission of Corrections to be strengthened to meet its mandate of ensuring that all these facilities are humane and do not violate people’s constitutional rights. I am thankful that S856 has made it out of the Senate Committee of Finance. The legislature must immediately put this legislation on the floor for a vote, and Governor Hochul should swiftly sign it into law.”
Yonah Zeitz, Advocacy Director of the Katal Center for Equity, Health, and Justice: “Right now, the conditions in New York’s jails and prisons are horrific and life-threatening for incarcerated people.The SCOC has a constitutional mandate to ensure that correctional facilities across the state are ‘safe and humane,’ yet nearly every day, another horrific scandal or crisis emerges in local jails or state prisons. Katal members, many of whom are formerly incarcerated or have loved ones currently incarcerated in jails and prisons across the state, attended today’s committee meeting to demand an overhaul to the State Commission of Correction (SCOC). We thank the Committee for advancing this bill.
Now the full Senate must take up and pass this measure. And the Assembly must do the same and move it out of the Corrections Committee. We urge the Legislature to act quickly and deliver this bill, S856 (Salazar) / A2315 (Gallagher), to the governor’s desk. With lives at stake, there is no time to waste. There must be a sense of urgency in the final stretch of the session to get this done.”
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