{"id":348084,"date":"2026-09-16T06:00:29","date_gmt":"2026-09-16T06:00:29","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/348084\/"},"modified":"2026-09-16T06:00:29","modified_gmt":"2026-09-16T06:00:29","slug":"disabled-people-in-new-york-prisons-arent-receiving-accommodations-theyre-entitled-to","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/348084\/","title":{"rendered":"Disabled people in New York prisons aren\u2019t receiving accommodations they\u2019re entitled to"},"content":{"rendered":"<p class=\"has-light-gray-background-color has-background wp-block-paragraph\">Real journalists wrote and edited this (not AI)\u2014independent, community-driven journalism survives because you back it.\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/prismreports.org\/ways-to-give\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener nofollow\">Donate<\/a>\u00a0to sustain Prism\u2019s mission and the humans behind it.<\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">When Dante Martin first entered Five Points Correctional Facility, outside Ithaca, New York, in 2024, he was held in the medical unit rather than a cell. Martin, who has been incarcerated for nine years, has epilepsy, is legally blind and hard of hearing, and, as of 2025, cannot walk independently. Prison staff determined that only the medical unit was able to accommodate his needs until he could be transferred to a facility that could better support him.<\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Martin was transferred to another prison after a few months. But within a year, he found himself back at Five Points. This time, however, he struggled to get the care he needed there.<\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">According to Martin, he has not received 16 of the 21 devices or services he requested more than 10 months ago from the Department of Corrections and Community Supervision (DOCCS)\u2014despite prison officials agreeing that he\u2019s entitled to them under the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA). Without accommodations like large-print documents, an aid to help him move around prison, and a wheelchair-accessible cell, everyday activities like reading, socializing, and bathing have been difficult.<\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cAs humans, we are social creatures. When I don\u2019t have these accommodations, I\u2019m isolated,\u201d Martin told Prism. \u201cIt feels like I\u2019m lost, I\u2019m alone, and there\u2019s no hope.\u201d<\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">More than 34,000 people are held in 41 DOCCS facilities. Of those, DOCCS has designated 11 prisons to provide tools, staff support, and other accommodations for people with vision, hearing, and mobility disabilities. However, no single facility is designated to accommodate every category of disability described in DOCCS\u2019 internal policies. As a result, incarcerated people like Martin who have multiple disabilities can find it nearly impossible to get the supports they need to function\u2014even when DOCCS agrees that such accommodations are necessary and meet the legal standard of being \u201creasonable.\u201d<\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Several legal and ADA compliance experts told Prism that DOCCS\u2019 failure to consistently provide reasonable accommodations to disabled people held in its facilities is likely a violation of federal law.<\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cWhere a person with a qualifying disability requires a reasonable accommodation to access a prison program or service that non-disabled people enjoy, the ADA requires the prison to provide the accommodation,\u201d Lauren Nakamura, an attorney for Legal Aid Society\u2019s Prisoners\u2019 Rights Project, wrote in an email. \u201cIf the prison fails to provide the accommodation, it\u2019s violating the ADA, unless it can show that providing the accommodation would be an undue burden or would fundamentally alter the available program.\u201d<\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Prism spoke with 19 incarcerated people with disabilities in prisons across New York who, without access to all of their requested accommodations, have experienced uncomfortable and dangerous conditions inside DOCCS facilities. Many of the tools and services they had fell through the cracks when they were moved to a new prison. After a transfer, some said they waited weeks or months to receive accommodations, and, in some cases, accommodations were denied even though DOCCS staff at a previous facility had approved them.<\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Several people Prism spoke with have found DOCCS\u2019 official grievance process, which is often used to report missing accommodations, to be ineffectual, and some said they faced retaliation after making complaints.<\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Their accounts are supported by previously unpublished data, interviews with disability rights lawyers and medical experts, and hundreds of documents obtained by Prism, including medical records, administrative paperwork, and internal DOCCS directives.<\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cThe health and safety of incarcerated individuals and staff is a top priority. DOCCS strongly adheres to the standards of care and accommodation for all incarcerated individuals with diverse needs in alignment with the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA), which is outlined in our Department Directives,\u201d DOCCS spokesperson Nicole March said in an emailed response to a detailed list of questions based on Prism\u2019s findings. \u201cThe Department continuously reviews and updates its practices to ensure we are meeting these standards of accessibility and care.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Life in prison without accommodations<\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Martin, 46, recalled having his first seizure about 15 years ago. In 2015, he was diagnosed with epilepsy.<\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Epilepsy, along with hearing loss, legal blindness, and severe back problems, has necessitated several supports and services for Martin to live safely and comfortably in prison.<\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cI need my accommodations in order to survive and in order to function,\u201d he said.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Since he pleaded guilty to assaulting a police officer in 2017, he\u2019s been held in eight different DOCCS prisons. The facility where he has had the most trouble receiving accommodations is Five Points.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">In November 2025, after the condition of Martin\u2019s back deteriorated to the point of needing a wheelchair, DOCCS returned him to Five Points\u2014the <a href=\"https:\/\/doccs.ny.gov\/system\/files\/documents\/2026\/03\/2612.pdf\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener nofollow\">only New York state prison designated as wheelchair accessible<\/a> by DOCCS\u2019 internal disability directive. DOCCS told Prism that eight other prisons are \u201cfully wheelchair accessible,\u201d and some others can partially accommodate wheelchair use, but those are not listed in the agency\u2019s disability policy.<\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Within his first week back at Five Points, Martin asked for almost every accommodation listed on DOCCS\u2019 Request for Reasonable Accommodations for Incarcerated Individuals with Sensorial Disabilities form. Per DOCCS\u2019 <a href=\"https:\/\/doccs.ny.gov\/system\/files\/documents\/2026\/03\/2612.pdf\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener nofollow\">internal<\/a> <a href=\"https:\/\/doccs.ny.gov\/system\/files\/documents\/2026\/01\/2614.pdf\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener nofollow\">directives<\/a>, disabled people can request certain tools and services, and a high-ranking staff member at the facility and a medical professional review the applicant\u2019s medical records to decide if the request is reasonable. Under the ADA, prisons generally must provide <a href=\"https:\/\/doccs.ny.gov\/community-supervision-handbook\/reasonable-accommodations\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener nofollow\">reasonable accommodations<\/a> to qualified disabled people, so long as they don\u2019t fundamentally alter a program, compromise safety, or create an \u201cundue burden\u201d for DOCCS. If approved, the applicant should either be given the accommodations or transferred to a facility that can provide them.<\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">A Five Points medical staffer and the deputy superintendent for programs (DSP), the officer responsible for signing off on disability accommodations, approved every one of Martin\u2019s requests, his application form shows.<\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">However, as of this month, Martin told Prism that he only has five of the 21 accommodations he asked for: a hearing aid, sunglasses, a \u201cshake awake\u201d alarm, a plastic magnifying glass, and a telephone amplifier that isn\u2019t compatible with the tablet he uses to make calls. He said he was allowed to bring the hearing aid he had at his previous facility, but it took months for him to receive the other items.<\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" data-recalc-dims=\"1\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"780\" height=\"975\" src=\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/09\/DOCCS-disability-chart-graphic-1.png\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-28765\"  \/>Dante Martin\u2019s accommodation request form, overlaid with a graphic of which accommodations he has received and which are still missing. Courtesy of Dante Martin; designed by Kyubin Kim <\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Though Martin has access to a wheelchair outside of his cell and takes epilepsy medication, he has yet to receive braille or large-print documents, a tape player for audiobooks, and a mobility assistant\u2014an incarcerated person paid to help blind people move around prison\u2014among several other accommodations. He said he\u2019s also waiting on a lamp to help him manage his epilepsy, which is aggravated by flickering light and heat. Martin estimated that he\u2019s had about one seizure a month at Five Points, <a href=\"https:\/\/nysfocus.com\/2025\/08\/04\/summer-heat-prisons-doccs-new-york-climate-change\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener nofollow\">where it gets very hot in the summer<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Without these supports, Martin\u2019s daily life in prison has been isolated, frustrating, and dreary. Without the large-print forms, Martin said he\u2019s missed commissary orders at least five times, leaving him without hygiene products. Without the tape player, he hasn\u2019t been able to listen to novels, like the James Patterson books he likes to binge-read. And without a mobility assistant, he can\u2019t participate in communal meals, programming, or recreational time.<\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cI\u2019m stuck in a cell alone by myself,\u201d said Martin. He worried that without adequate medical monitoring, his life could be in danger.<\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" data-recalc-dims=\"1\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"780\" height=\"520\" src=\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/09\/IMG_8239.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-28752\"  \/>Dante Martin looks at his documents in the Five Points visiting room using a plastic magnifying glass, one of the tools he has received as part of his accommodations request, on March 20, 2026. Credit: Curtis Brodner<\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">In an <a href=\"https:\/\/prismreports.org\/2024\/05\/28\/new-york-prisons-disabled-people-solitary\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener nofollow\">ongoing class-action lawsuit<\/a> against DOCCS for placing disabled people in solitary confinement despite a state law forbidding the practice, DOCCS has failed to provide the number of disabled people in its custody, what disabilities they have, and where they are held. Victoria Pilger, a lawyer representing the incarcerated plaintiffs, said she believes DOCCS\u2019 failure to share that information during discovery meant the department has not been tracking it.<\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">DOCCS has also repeatedly delayed fulfilling Prism\u2019s freedom of information request for similar information. However, a document obtained by Prism from February lists the disabilities of 53 people incarcerated at Eastern New York Correctional Facility, an hour\u2019s drive west of Poughkeepsie. The document indicates that, at least at this facility, DOCCS does internally record information about disabled people it incarcerates.<\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">DOCCS did not directly comment on the lawsuit, the agency\u2019s failure to share data in court, or the document that indicates the agency tracks that data.<\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">According to intake data shared with Prism by Prisoners\u2019 Legal Services of New York (PLS), between March 2023 and January 2026, 123 people in DOCCS facilities wrote to the civil rights group that they were missing accommodations or otherwise faced disability discrimination. PLS received at least one complaint from 92% of state prisons, and five or more complaints from about a quarter of all facilities.<\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Five Points\u2014where Martin is held\u2014had the highest number of complaints, more than twice as many as the second highest on the list, Eastern.<\/p>\n<p>A new era for disability in prison\u00a0<\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">For most of the 20th century, many disabled people convicted of crimes were\u00a0confined in asylums rife with abuse or prisons that provided little accommodation or support.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">That started to change in 1990, when Congress passed the ADA, the landmark civil rights law that mandated government institutions accommodate people with disabilities. Eight years later, a Supreme Court case, Pennsylvania Department of Corrections v. Yeskey, clarified that the ADA applies to prisons and jails.<\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Prisons in New York initially failed to comply with the ADA, leading a group of hearing-impaired incarcerated people to file a lawsuit against the state in 1991. A judge ruled that by failing to provide accommodations like sign-language interpreters and hearing amplification devices, the prisons were violating the law.<\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The lawsuit led to DOCCS\u2019 policy for requesting reasonable accommodations, initially just for visual and hearing impairments. While the directives have expanded over the years to be more thorough and include mobility disabilities, the process remains inefficient and inconsistent across facilities.<\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Some prison systems have a designated staff person at each facility who ensures compliance with the ADA. DOCCS, however, has only one <a href=\"https:\/\/doccs.ny.gov\/community-supervision-handbook\/reasonable-accommodations\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener nofollow\">ADA coordinator for the entire state<\/a>. Instead of one ADA coordinator per prison, each facility\u2019s DSP oversees the entire accommodations process, from reviewing requests to investigating complaints, documents show. That\u2019s in addition to managing education, rehabilitation, other grievances, and more.<\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cThe state-wide ADA Coordinator and the Office of Diversity and Inclusion reviews and oversees incarcerated individuals\u2019 reasonable accommodation requests, determinations made by the DSP, and all complaints received related to reasonable accommodations,\u201d DOCCS said in an email.<\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Other problems can arise from the inability of any one prison to accommodate all types of disabilities, leaving gaps in coverage for some people with multiple disabilities. Finding the right facility is further complicated by the security level mandated for an incarcerated person and by complex medical needs that require specific treatment and can cause disabilities, according to Dr. Homer Venters, a former chief medical officer of New York City\u2019s prison system who now investigates prisons as a federal monitor.<\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">According to PLS\u2019 intake data, between March 2023 and January 2026, there were 150 instances when a person was placed in a facility not designated to accommodate their disability, including when this happened more than once to the same person. Julian Martinez, a consultant who monitors ADA compliance, said many states use this system of \u201cclustering,\u201d in which a prison system designates different facilities to accommodate different disabilities, as a cost-saving measure. Martinez said other prison systems put the onus on the facility to provide accommodations as soon as staff verifies a disability instead of requiring incarcerated people to request their own.<\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">As <a href=\"https:\/\/brookdale.org\/fact-sheet-elder-parole-is-an-aging-issue\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener nofollow\">New York\u2019s prison population ages<\/a>, disability accommodations requests from elderly people with long sentences have also become more common, according to Venters.<\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Some of the incarcerated people Prism spoke with were able to get the tools and services they needed at prisons that were not designated to accommodate them. But for others, DOCCS\u2019 piecemeal approach undermines the systemwide reforms mandated in the \u201990s.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThey put me through hell\u201d<\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">During his 45 years in New York\u2019s prison system, Jose Medina has experienced firsthand the challenges of navigating DOCCS\u2019 disability accommodations process after a transfer. Medina, 72, has been incarcerated all over the state\u2014eight facilities total since he was convicted of murder in 1981.<\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Twenty years ago, he was diagnosed with prostate cancer, he said, and has glaucoma and cataracts that visually impair him in one eye and have made him legally blind in the other.<\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">In 2022, Medina was held in Sullivan Correctional Facility, where officials had approved accommodations like a magnifying tool, a tape cassette player for audiobooks, and large-print documents, records show. But when Sullivan closed in 2024, his accommodations were thrown into disarray.<\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cThey put me through hell,\u201d Medina said.<\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">He was moved to Green Haven Correctional Facility, where DOCCS required him to reapply for accommodations. But, for the five weeks he was held there, he said he didn\u2019t receive adequate supports.<\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cLife was a battle and hard for me to get around on my own,\u201d Medina said in a message sent through Securus, DOCCS\u2019 digital communications provider.<\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">After weeks struggling to function, he was moved again\u2014this time to Eastern. Again, Medina had to reapply for accommodations. Under DOCCS policy, staff should have used the same criteria to judge his application, so Medina assumed getting reapproved would be simple. He was wrong.<\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">On his form to request vision accommodations from Jan. 3, 2025, staff indicated \u201cno medical verification to support visual defect\u201d\u2014without it, they would not approve Medina\u2019s request. However, medical records from six days after Medina received the response reference eye surgeries he underwent years prior, as well as a vision test he took the same day he filed the form. After his request was rejected, Medina was examined during a medical consultation that found what he already knew: Even with glasses, his vision was severely impaired.<\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">It\u2019s unclear why Eastern staff didn\u2019t refer to the same medical records that Sullivan staff appeared to have when they approved Medina\u2019s accommodations in 2022, let alone the vision test that took place at Eastern itself. Cassandra Rohme, a civil rights attorney who represents incarcerated people with disabilities, along with other legal and medical experts, said that by forcing incarcerated people to reapply every time they change facilities, DOCCS exacerbates the risk that needs go unmet.<\/p>\n<p>You\u2019re not spontaneously recovering from being blind just because you went to a different facility.<\/p>\n<p>Cassandra Rohme, civil rights attorney<\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cIt doesn\u2019t make any sense,\u201d Rohme told Prism. \u201cObviously you\u2019re not spontaneously recovering from being blind just because you went to a different facility.\u201d <\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">DOCCS\u2019 use of paper medical records can add to the confusion, she added.\u00a0DOCCS told Prism that the agency\u2019s <a href=\"https:\/\/www.budget.ny.gov\/pubs\/archive\/fy27\/ex\/agencies\/appropdata\/CorrectionsandCommunitySupervisionDepartmentof.html\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener nofollow\">2027 budget<\/a> includes funds to develop a digital system for medical record keeping.<\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Medina would not accept Eastern\u2019s decision. With the help of friends, over the following weeks, he submitted another application, filed complaints through DOCCS\u2019 grievance system, and attempted to track down his medical records. After four and a half months with no respite, Medina got a letter from an Eastern staff member that he would receive his accommodations in a few days. He got access to a guidance cane, magnifiers, a tape player, and some other vision tools, but Eastern refused to provide him a mobility assistant.<\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Medina escalated his efforts. He wrote to high-ranking DOCCS staff, nonprofit legal advocates, and the U.S. Department of Justice about his situation. He even wrote to New York Gov. Kathy Hochul, whose office attempted to intervene, a letter from a DOCCS official shows.<\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">It wasn\u2019t until this past February\u2014over a year after he first submitted his request at Eastern\u2014that Medina said he finally received a mobility assistant. Martinez, the prison ADA consultant, said that in his experience, a reasonable wait time for accommodations that don\u2019t require specialized equipment is four to six hours.<\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">In May, Medina learned his prostate cancer, which had been in remission, had returned. But he remains a relentless optimist, signing every message \u201cthe fighter and survivor.\u201d<\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cI have learned to turn this prison pain into purpose,\u201d he wrote, \u201cand I am not at the finish line yet.\u201d<\/p>\n<p><img data-recalc-dims=\"1\" loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"780\" height=\"438\" src=\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/09\/IMG_8393.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-28757\"  \/>Outside of Five Points Correctional Facility, on March 20, 2026. Intake data from Prisoners\u2019 Legal Services of New York (PLS) shows that 20% of all disability discrimination reports PLS received came from Five Points, the most of any prison in the state. Credit: Curtis Brodner<\/p>\n<p>Nowhere else to turn<\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Between his arrival at Five Points in November 2025 and late April, Martin filed at least 14 grievances\u2014double the number he made at every other facility he\u2019s been in combined. Half of the grievances dealt with inadequate medical care, or missing or denied accommodations. Eleven people Prism spoke to said they had also filed grievances related to disability accommodations.<\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">On Jan. 15, Martin filed a grievance after Five Points staff moved him from the medical unit to a general-population cell that is not wheelchair accessible. About a month before the move, the DSP had sent Martin a letter that read, \u201cUpon further investigation with medical, you are not wheelchair bound, you are wheelchair for long distances.\u201d<\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Martin wrote in his complaint that he had not been seen by a doctor before being moved, and that a nurse had told him the decision was made by \u201cadministration and medical.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">He maintains that he needs a wheelchair to maneuver in his cell. The cell he was moved to was a small room that he lived in alone. It had a shower elevated more than a foot off the ground, by Martin\u2019s estimate, so instead of trying to crawl inside, he said he bathed in the sink.<\/p>\n<p>Without a mobility assistant, Martin was rarely allowed to leave his cell, except for medical and administrative appointments once or twice a week.<\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Because his cell was so cramped, Martin said he struggled to use his chair to enter and exit. Without a mobility assistant\u2014which Five Points approved but Martin said has still not provided\u2014he was rarely allowed to leave his cell, except for medical and administrative appointments once or twice a week.<\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cWe\u2019re humans, we\u2019re supposed to at least socialize,\u201d Martin said during an interview on April 20. \u201cYou have me in a cell since at least Jan. 5. You don\u2019t think that\u2019s fucking with my mental?\u201d<\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Since July, Martin said Five Points has moved him to four different cells, including both medical and general-population cells, without explanation. He is currently in a medical cell, which is equipped with support rails and an accessible shower. Despite his cell placement and his barrage of grievances, Martin told Prism that he remains without most of his accommodations.<\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Grievances are reviewed by a panel of incarcerated people and staff, <a href=\"https:\/\/drive.google.com\/file\/d\/1GqcBhhOG7l0Y27XYPo7kAL9WKjnNgxj-\/view\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener nofollow\">according to a DOCCS internal directive<\/a>. The panel can issue a decision on how to resolve the complaint, but cases that require a change in staff behavior or policy are ultimately referred to DOCCS administrators. While DOCCS closely monitors grievances, the agency does not track ADA-related complaints in its <a href=\"https:\/\/drive.google.com\/file\/d\/1GqcBhhOG7l0Y27XYPo7kAL9WKjnNgxj-\/view\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener nofollow\">semiannual report on grievances<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">In March, the panel denied that Martin was missing accommodations, claiming that he had been provided with sunglasses, a cane, a magnifier, the lamp to manage epilepsy, and a talking watch on Dec. 1, 2025. The decision does not mention the 12 other approved accommodations that he said he has not yet received. In another decision, issued in April, the panel wrote that he had been provided with all of the accommodations.<\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">When prison systems fail to provide accommodations, grievances increase, said Venters, the prison medical monitor.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cIt creates a very contentious environment,\u201d Venters said. \u201cAnd it may keep the patient from doing other things they need to do, like they may not be able to get down the stairs or get to meals or get to places they need to go without that accommodation.\u201d<\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cIt\u2019s not acceptable at all to wait until there\u2019s been a failure in accommodation, and then they file a grievance,\u201d Venters added. \u201cThat\u2019s not an acceptable or ethical approach to disability accommodation.\u201d<\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Martin believes he invited retaliation by complaining. He sees his previous placements in inaccessible general-population cells as punishment, and in early May, Martin said staff confiscated his wheelchair for in-cell use and replaced it with a walker.<\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cHow am I supposed to get in and out myself now or move around my cell if you took my wheelchair?\u201d said Martin.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">He said his access to a wheelchair continues to be inconsistent. Several others incarcerated at Five Points and other facilities told Prism that they believed staff had taken away their wheelchairs or filed reports of misbehavior as retaliation for speaking out.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI NEED MEDICAL HELP. MY LIFE IS IN DANGER\u201d<\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">In April, Martin\u2019s worst fears of what could happen if he did not get his accommodations materialized.<\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">It was a week before I planned to visit Five Points to meet Martin, whom I\u2019d been communicating with over the phone and Securus for months. On the morning of April 12, Martin sent me a message: \u201cI NEED HELP .I\u2019VE HAD ANOTHER SEIZURE and I\u2019VE BEEN LAYEN ON THE FLOOR SINCE 6:30am.THE OFFICER\u2019S AND THE NURSE ARE AWARE OF THIS AND LLEFT ME ON THE FLOOR,I NEED MEDICAL HELP. MY LIFE IS IN DANGER .\u201d<\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">After trying to reach Martin\u2019s mother and sister, I called Five Points to ask staff to check on him. On my first attempt, a medical staff member said she was dealing with an emergency and hung up. When I called back, an officer repeatedly said he wouldn\u2019t answer any questions.<\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cThis is urgent,\u201d I said.<\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cIt\u2019s not urgent to me,\u201d he responded, and hung up.<\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">After about an hour, Martin\u2019s mother called me to confirm that staff eventually checked on him, after his cousin called the facility four times. Martin said he spent hours incapacitated.<\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">A day after Martin\u2019s seizure, March, the DOCCS spokesperson, told me that staff conducted a wellness check, and Martin had seen medical staff twice. \u201cThe Department takes reports of potential medical concerns seriously. We are reviewing the circumstances surrounding these calls,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">While Martin waited for help, he said he thought he would die.<\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cAt one point I was saying, \u2018Man, this is it,\u2019\u201d he said. \u201c\u2018This is my final destination.\u2019\u201d<\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">About two months later, Martin found himself in the same position after another seizure. He worries the next seizure will be his last. <\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cIt\u2019s fear for my life, because once you lose that, you can\u2019t get that back,\u201d said Martin. \u201cI came here to do a bid, not to be treated like an animal.\u201d<\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Editorial Team:<br \/>Rashmee Kumar, Lead Editor<br \/>Carolyn Copeland, Top Editor<br \/>Stephanie Harris, Copy Editor<\/p>\n<p>\n\tRelated<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Real journalists wrote and edited this (not AI)\u2014independent, community-driven journalism survives because you back it.\u00a0Donate\u00a0to sustain Prism\u2019s mission&hellip;\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":348085,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[6],"tags":[102312,60980,34052,38367,130182,130183,2953,32681,32682,130184,745,9,130185,11,10,49,51,50,60983,8098],"class_list":["post-348084","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-new-york","tag-americans-with-disabilities-act","tag-criminal-legal-system","tag-disability","tag-disabled","tag-disabled-incarcerated-people","tag-five-points-correctional-facility","tag-health","tag-incarcerated-people","tag-incarcerated-people-rights","tag-incarcerated-people-safety","tag-investigation","tag-new-york","tag-new-york-department-of-corrections-and-community-supervision","tag-new-york-headlines","tag-new-york-news","tag-new-york-state","tag-new-york-state-headlines","tag-new-york-state-news","tag-nydoccs","tag-prison"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/348084","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=348084"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/348084\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/348085"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=348084"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=348084"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=348084"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}