The city Board of Correction passed a resolution Tuesday sharply criticizing the Correction Department for stonewalling its information requests and obstructing the board’s oversight role under the city Charter.
The board unanimously voted in favor of the resolution after a tense exchange between board members and DOC officials in a dispute over access to DOC records related to deaths in the jails in 2025 and other jail issues that has been building since a Sept. 9 meeting.
Under the Charter, the board has the right to inspect “all books, records, documents and papers of the department” and “evaluate the performance of the department.”
Vice Chairwoman Helen Skipper, who proposed the resolution, said she was unhappy with DOC’s response on a lack of recreation for detainees in the Otis Bantum Correctional Center, and called out DOC’s first deputy commissioner, Frances Torres, by name for being unresponsive about answering the board’s question about a detainee early release program.
“The board formally condemns the department’s ongoing failure to fully and properly respond to the board’s requests for information and documentation, which is a breach of the department’s legal obligations and a fundamental obstruction of independent oversight,” said Skipper quoting from the resolution.
DOC official James Boyd offered a heated rebuttal, claiming the criticism was unfair.
“You guys already have access to the information. When you come to these meetings and you make it seem like we’re being unresponsive, it’s misleading to the public,” Boyd said. “To accuse us of being unresponsive I think is totally unfair and off base.”
But Barry Cozier, a retired state judge who serves on the board, countered that DOC was routinely offering vague answers to specific, detailed questions and even suggesting the board just check the DOC website.
“There is a basis for this resolution,” he said. “I was actually appalled. … There is a problem, and it’s beyond just a disagreement. When we ask for specifics, we expect to receive specific responses and not for you to refer us to your website.”
Board Chairman Dwayne Sampson added, “This may result in a serious escalation of Charter enforcement by this board on the department. So it is a very serious resolution.”
The board’s move was its strongest since August 2023 when five members of the board sued the city after then-DOC Commissioner Louis Molina blocked its Charter-mandated access to jail security video. The dispute was eventually settled with an agreement allowing video access to the board once again.
Originally Published: October 14, 2025 at 5:03 PM EDT