Hochul announces immediate “corrective” actions during visit Monday visit to Marcy Correctional Facility

ONEIDA COUNTY- Governor Kathy Hochul made a local appearance Monday at the Marcy Correctional Facility, where she held a press conference and demanded answers in the wake of what has been described as a “brutal” beating, which resulted in the death of inmate, Robert Brooks.

“The system failed Mr. Brooks and I will not be satisfied until there has been significant culture change,” the Governor said. Read her full press statement below:

“Today, as I stood in the room where Robert Brooks was killed, I was once again heartbroken by this unnecessary loss of life and further sickened to think of the actions of depraved individuals with no regard for human life,” Governor Hochul said. “Mr. Brooks and his family did not deserve this. I told both Marcy leadership and the incarcerated individuals that I met with that every single individual who enters a DOCCS facility deserves to be safe, whether they are employed there or serving their time. The system failed Mr. Brooks and I will not be satisfied until there has been significant culture change. Today I am implementing a number of new policies at Marcy and within DOCCS, and I look forward to continuing to hear ideas from experts, elected officials, and advocates as we continue this work.”

Governor Hochul also met with a number of incarcerated individuals at Marcy who serve as liaisons for the larger incarcerated population and heard from them directly about their experiences.

Governor Hochul announced immediate corrective actions following her visit, and she previously ordered an immediate and full investigation into the death of Robert Brooks and further directed New York State Department of Corrections and Community Supervision Commissioner Martuscello to begin the termination process for the 14 individuals who were involved in his fatal attack.

During her meeting with DOCCS officials today, Governor Hochul directed Department leaders to implement immediate changes to protect the safety and well-being of all DOCCS personnel and incarcerated individuals.

This includes:

• Directing DOCCS Commissioner Martuscello to appoint Shawangunk Correctional Facility Superintendent Bennie Thorpe as the new permanent Superintendent of Marcy Correctional Facility. Superintendent Thorpe has spent more than two decades working in corrections, including leadership roles at Hudson Correctional Facility, Sing Sing Correctional Facility and now as Superintendent at Shawangunk. He has extensive experience in security operations and also has implemented programs like College in Prison and Rehabilitation Through the Arts. He is a career DOCCS employee who has never served at Marcy or nearby facilities, giving him expertise and a fresh perspective on what must be done.
• Expediting $400 million to install fixed cameras and distribute body-worn cameras in all DOCCS facilities. Governor Hochul has already committed over $400 million for this initiative which has already invested millions of dollars in cameras across the system — the same body-worn cameras that were critical in capturing the horrific assault on Mr. Brooks. At the Governor’s direction, Commissioner Martuscello has already expanded the policy for activating body-worn cameras whenever a staff member comes in contact with incarcerated individuals.
• Adding DOCCS staff to the Office of Special Investigations to ensure that complaints are handled immediately and that anyone found of wrongdoing will be held accountable in a timely manner.
  Directing DOCCS to engage an outside firm to conduct a review of the culture, patterns and practices, not only in Marcy, but across the correctional system.
  Expanding the DOCCS whistleblower hotline to more effectively facilitate anonymous tips from DOCCS employees and contractors as well as incarcerated individuals.
• Deploying $2 million to expand DOCCS’ partnership with the Correctional Association of NY (“CANY”), which is charged with visiting and examining the State’s correctional facilities under §146 of New York’s Correction Law. These funds will allow CANY to expand their ability to provide independent monitoring and oversight of state prisons in New York State, which is a critical step in providing independent and ongoing concerns and solutions to the agency.
• Launching a new partnership with AMEND, a public health and human rights program that works in prisons to assess the operating culture of our facilities, offer recommendations to reduce misconducts and other adverse events among incarcerated individuals, and to improve health and wellbeing. AMEND will also review appropriate training curriculum and provide recommendations based on this review.
• Launching a new partnership with Chicago Beyond to conduct a safety gap analysis within several facilities with the goal of deploying fresh, expert eyes within corrections facilities to identify improvements and develop best practices.
• Creating a new dedicated unit on The Future of Prisons in New York State within the Council of Community Justice. The scope of work for the new exclusively dedicated unit would be broad, including (a) a strategy for creating a more healthy and safer environment of those who work and are incarcerated in our prisons; (b) the training and professional development of corrections staff; (c) staffing needs (a major national crisis); (d) the state of the economies of "prison towns" that would be impacted if prisons closed, building on the work of the previous commission; (e) the state of health care, particularly for the aging population; (f) the projected population for the prisons over the next 20 years (under different policy options for sentencing); and (g) the state of the physical plant.

Image via the office of New York Governor Kathy Hochul.