300-page report<\/a> was requested by the Department of Corrections and Community Supervision after inmates Robert Brooks and Messiah Nantwi died in custody. <\/p>\nThe report says those deaths demonstrated systemic shortcomings in oversight, accountability and culture within the prison system.<\/p>\n
What the report found<\/p>\n
The review focused on Marcy and Mid-State Correctional Facilities, along with Sing Sing and Gouverneur, where leadership, staff and inmates were interviewed.<\/p>\n
Among the findings: employee morale is low, staff training is inadequate, record-keeping is antiquated, and both employees and inmates feel unsafe.<\/p>\n
A separate, shorter report lists 20 additional recommendations. Together, the two reports offer 77 recommendations for improvement.<\/p>\n
Republican Assemblyman Scott Gray of the 116th District said the review was needed.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt is well overdue that we had an independent set of eyes reviewing our entire system,\u201d Gray said. \u201cHopefully it resolves some of the issues, or at least points us in the direction that there\u2019s resolution to what the issues are.\u201d<\/p>\n
Union: HALT Act contributing to unsafe conditions<\/p>\n
Bryan Hluska, Central Region Vice President of NYSCOPBA, represents staff at three of the four facilities reviewed. He said findings did not surprise him.<\/p>\n
\u201cMorale is low. The staffing numbers are down, vacations are not able to be taken at all of our facilities, personal time is limited or none,\u201d Hluska said.<\/p>\n
Hluska said the feeling of fear among staff and inmates is tied to the HALT Act, which limits the use of isolated confinement.<\/p>\n
\u201cYour average inmate wants to go, do his time, do his programs, and get released from prison,\u201d Hluska said. \u201cYou have, and I\u2019ll call it the 10 percent. They don\u2019t behave, and there\u2019s no deterring anymore because of HALT, so now they\u2019re allowed to prey and extort and create other problems for these inmates that just want to do their time, but they\u2019re forced to join the madness.\u201d<\/p>\n
State response and union skepticism<\/p>\n
The state said it has already implemented some of the recommendations, with more changes coming. The state also noted that cases of excessive use of force, contraband, assaults on staff and inmate-on-inmate violence are all down in 2025 compared to 2024.<\/p>\n
The union, however, questions whether those numbers are accurate. Hluska pointed to last winter\u2019s wildcat strikes as a factor that may have artificially reduced reported incidents.<\/p>\n
\u201cThat time frame is when the strike happened, and there was very limited to no movement and visits at the time, so there was less opportunity for those things to happen,\u201d Hluska said. \u201cLet\u2019s wait and see moving forward if that trend continues.\u201d<\/p>\n
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