Latest news with #HumaneAlternativestoLong-TermSolitaryConfinementAct
Yahoo
28-03-2025
- Health
- Yahoo
How Prison Guards Used An Illegal Strike To Fight Reform
A three-weeklong wildcat strike by thousands of New York state correctional officers across more than 40 prisons ended earlier this month, during which time 12 incarcerated people died, and many more struggled from weeks of being deprived of adequate food, medical care, time out of their cell, and access to their lawyers and loved ones. Striking prison guards cited staffing shortages, mandatory overtime and dangerous working conditions as their reasons for walking off the job. But the strike was also the result of a years-long effort by correctional officers to overturn a state law limiting the use of solitary confinement in New York state prisons and jails. Passed in 2021 and implemented the following year, the Humane Alternatives to Long-Term Solitary Confinement Act (HALT), capped the number of consecutive days a person could be kept in solitary confinement to 15 days— after which point the United Nations considers it a form of torture. HALT also banned solitary for people with disabilities. The bill was passed in recognition of overwhelming evidence of the harmful physical and mental health effects of solitary confinement. But shortly after it passed, the New York State Correctional Officers & Police Benevolent Association (NYSCOPBA), the union that represents prison guards, sued state officials in an effort to repeal HALT, claiming the reform bill violated their constitutional rights by putting them at risk of injury or death. 'The harm to life and limb of Correction Officers and Correction Sergeants that has been and will continue to occur constitutes irreparable harm and shocks the contemporary conscience,' they alleged in a complaint. A judge dismissed the lawsuit in 2022 as 'speculative,' but the correctional officers union vowed to keep fighting to overturn the law. Starting in mid-February, approximately 15,000correctional officers at nearly every New York state prison walked off their jobs. The strike was unsanctioned by the union and violated a state ban on public employees striking. Still, the union succeeded in one of their long-held goals. Earlier this month, the strike ended with state officials agreeing to, among other provisions, suspending parts of HALT for 90 days and agreeing to form a committee to recommend changes to the law. 'The strike was clearly a frontal assault on HALT and its protections,' Antony Gemmell, a supervising attorney for the Prisoners' Rights Project at the Legal Aid Society, told HuffPost. It was unlikely New York state lawmakers would repeal HALT, James Miller, NYSCOPBA's director of public relations said in an interview, 'so at least getting some temporary amendments to limit how it's implemented is a success.' Throughout the strike, lawyers at the Legal Aid Society received hundreds of calls from their clients, describing a 'flood of human desperation,' Kayla Simpson, a staff attorney at Legal Aid's Prisoners' Rights Project said. 'It's hard to imagine as people who haven't been incarcerated what it's like to depend on people for your basic needs — and then to have those people walk away.' 'This is not an acceptable way to meet labor demands. People died, far more have suffered,' Simpson said. 'We wouldn't accept these conditions for animals.' Simpson and her colleagues compiled some of the accounts shared by Legal Aid clients into a report released on Friday, which documents the human cost of the illegal strike. Legal Aid did not disclose the identities of those quoted in the report because of fears of retaliation, and HuffPost could not independently confirm their accounts. Multiple people told Legal Aid that their facilities had shut down 'sick call,' leaving them unable to get medical care. One person incarcerated at Attica Correctional Facility told Legal Aid he was unable to get supplies to clean and dress chronic ulcers related to a blood clot in his leg, causing his leg to swell and the wound to produce foul-smelling pus. Another person at Attica, who has epilepsy, reported being ignored after reporting symptoms that typically lead to a seizure. A third person at Attica, who had open-heart surgery in 2020 and has atrial fibrillation, said their weekly medical visits stopped during the strike. 'I haven't gotten the medications I'm supposed to have in two weeks. I have one I can administer to myself, but I'm running out so I'm rationing it and it is not good. I don't know what I'm going to do,' a person incarcerated at Marcy Correctional Facility said. 'I also am supposed to have physical therapy to help me relearn to walk, but that's deemed 'non-essential' so it's canceled.' An individual at Five Points Correctional Facility told Legal Aid they experienced seizures and COVID symptoms during the strike but still couldn't get medical care. 'They're playing with our lives in here,' the person said. 'The other day I must have been laying there for 20-30 minutes and no one saw me. I woke up in a lot of pain, and no one even realized anything was happening until I yelled out after the fact. When I told a nurse about it, she told me to yell louder next time.' Nicole Whitaker, the deputy director of public information at New York's Department of Corrections and Community Supervision, said in an email, 'The Department remains focused on keeping everyone inside the correctional facilities safe and secure, as well as providing essential services including but not limited to meals, showers, telephones, commissary and delivery of packages, along with medical and mental health care, including medication.' Allegations of mistreatment have been referred to the Office of Special Investigations, she wrote. 'There were 12 incarcerated individual deaths during the strike, as compared to 13 deaths in the same period last year,' Whitaker wrote. Even after the strike ended earlier this month,incarcerated people told Legal Aid attorneys that they continued to experience neglectful conditions and hostility from returning officers. Several said they feared being injured or even killed by guards, citing the murder of Robert Brooks, who was fatally beaten by correctional officers in December at the prison in Marcy. One person incarcerated at Mid-State Correctional Facility told Legal Aid he overheard a correction officer who had recently returned to work say he wanted to 'kill all the inmates and that we all deserved to die because of our criminal history,' according to the report. 'Whatever the COs are going through, they're taking their anger out on us and bringing it back to us,' another person, who is incarcerated at Coxsackle Correctional Facility, told Legal Aid. 'I understand that most of us made wrong turns in life, but I want to go home. I don't want to get killed in here. I have kids and family to get home to, and a lot of us are starting to feel like our lives are in real danger here.' Asked about these fears, Whitaker wrote, 'While the strike has ended, we are not out of the crisis. Each facility is developing a gradual re-opening plan. In terms of the allegations, those that have been reported by an incarcerated individual claiming mistreatment have been referred to OSI for further investigation.' Although DOCCS tracks assaults by incarcerated people against staff, it does not publicly share statistics about staff assaults against the incarcerated. DOCCS data does show an increase in assaults on staff after HALT went into effect, although the overwhelming majority are described as resulting in 'no injury.' The department considers actions by prisoners like throwing a 'small object' at a staffer to be a form of assault. Last year, the Legal Aid Society, Disability Rights Advocates, and Winston & Strawn LLP filed a class action lawsuit against DOCCS, accusing the department of violating HALT by holding people with disabilities in solitary confinement. DOCCS declined to comment on the pending litigation. 'DOCCS has never complied with HALT from the beginning,' said Gemmell, one of the attorneys representing the plaintiffs in the suit. 'A huge part of what HALT intended to do is take people who would otherwise be placed in extended segregated confinement and offer them rehabilitation and therapy. That is not happening.' 'You can't look at HALT and say it's a failure when the reality is DOCCS has never given HALT a real chance to work,' said Gemmell. Prisons Said It Was COVID Isolation. The Incarcerated Describe Torture. Bodycam Video Shows New York Correctional Officers Pummeling Handcuffed Man In Fatal Beating Over 122K People Are Experiencing Solitary Confinement On Any Day: Report
CBS News
12-03-2025
- Politics
- CBS News
2,000 fired prison guards won't be hired by New York again, Hochul says
More than 2,000 New York prison guards who were fired for participating in an illegal wildcat strike won't be able to get another job with the state, Gov. Kathy Hochul said. "There are consequences when people break the law, and that means you're not working in our state workforce, ever," Hochul said Tuesday. The strike lasted 22 days. It ended after the state and guards union struck a new deal that included the suspension of the Humane Alternatives to Long-Term Solitary Confinement Act, or HALT Act, for 90 days. The deal also included a reduction of 24-hour mandatory overtime, among other provisions. More than 10,000 officers had returned to work, which is down from the approximately 13,500 who initially went on strike. Several thousand National Guard members are being used to shore up the staffing shortfall. The strike, which was illegal under New York's Taylor Law prohibiting strikes by public employees, began on Feb. 17. Gov. Kathy Hochul warned of stiff repercussions for striking workers, including loss of health care, employment and possibly even prosecution. A prison watchdog group said seven prisoners died during the strike, including Messiah Nantwi, whose death is being investigated by a special prosecutor.
New York Times
09-03-2025
- New York Times
New Deal Reached to End Wildcat Strikes by N.Y. Prison Guards
A new agreement has been reached to end wildcat strikes by thousands of New York State correctional officers, which have created chaos throughout the prison system. Under the agreement, negotiated by state officials and the correctional officers' union, the officers are expected to return to work Monday. The officers, who maintained that staffing shortages, forced overtime and dangerous working conditions prompted the illegal strikes, had received an ultimatum this week from the Department of Corrections and Community Supervision: go back to their posts or face discipline, termination or, possibly, criminal charges, according to a memorandum issued by the agency. The union agreed on Saturday to the terms outlined in the memorandum, the corrections department said in a statement. Those terms will take effect when 85 percent of staff return to work. Any disputes over the agreement will be resolved by an arbitrator. It was unclear on Sunday how the union, the New York State Correctional Officers and Police Benevolent Association, would enforce the return-to-work provision since it did not authorize the strikes. The department and the union struck a similar deal last month that would have ended the strikes by March 1. Most officers ignored that agreement. In the new memorandum, the state agreed to a 90-day pause on some provisions in the Humane Alternatives to Long-Term Solitary Confinement Act, known as HALT, which limits the use of solitary confinement for prisoners. Officers on strike have said that, without solitary confinement, they cannot properly separate violent individuals from staff members and other incarcerated people. The corrections department will re-evaluate the provisions next month and determine whether they should be reinstituted. If staffing vacancies reach 30 percent at a given prison, the department may close parts of the facility to prevent officers from being stretched too thin, the memorandum said. The agency reserved the right to punish the officers who went on strike, the statement said. The union could not be reached on Sunday for comment on the agreement. The turmoil began on Feb. 17, when officers at two state prisons declared unauthorized strikes. Two days later, a judge ordered an end to the work stoppage. Instead, more strikes ensued. Officers at nearly all the 42 state prisons joined the work action, and Gov. Kathy Hochul deployed about 7,000 National Guard troops to staff the facilities. During the labor unrest, Messiah Nantwi, a 22-year-old prisoner, died on March 1 at Mid-State Correctional Facility in Marcy, N.Y. Two days later, 15 corrections department employees were put on leave in connection with his death. Nine prisoners interviewed by The New York Times said Mr. Nantwi died after he was beaten by prison guards. Gov. Kathy Hochul said that while the death was still under investigation, 'early reports point to extremely disturbing conduct leading to Mr. Nantwi's death.' At least eight other prisoners have died since the strikes began. They include two men at Auburn Correctional Facility in central New York who did not immediately receive medical treatment, according to prisoners, and a man who hanged himself inside his cell at Sing Sing Correctional Facility in the Hudson Valley. Some inmates have gone without showers and hot food throughout the strikes, while others have missed their court dates. Dozens of officers and sergeants who have participated in the strikes have been fired, Jackie Bray, the commissioner of the New York State Division of Homeland Security and Emergency Services, said at a news conference last week.
New York Times
07-03-2025
- Politics
- New York Times
N.Y. Corrections Department Issues Ultimatum to Striking Officers
Corrections officers who staged unauthorized strikes that have sowed chaos across New York State's prisons for the last two and a half weeks received an ultimatum on Thursday night: Return to work on Friday or face termination, disciplinary action and the possibility of criminal charges. In exchange for the officers' returning to work, the state would place a 90-day pause on some provisions of the Humane Alternatives to Long-Term Solitary Confinement Act, known as HALT, which limits the use of solitary confinement for inmates, Daniel F. Martuscello III, commissioner of the New York State Department of Corrections and Community Supervision, said in a news conference Thursday night. The department will also create a committee to study the law, which many corrections officers say has made their jobs more dangerous and difficult. Striking officers have also complained about staffing shortages and forced overtime, with some being required to work 24-hour shifts. The shifts of workers who return to duty on Friday will be limited to 12 hours, Mr. Martuscello said. When all workers are back in place and the prisons return to normal operations, he said, workers will not be forced to work shifts longer than eight hours. Dozens of corrections officers and sergeants have been fired for participating in the illegal strikes, Jackie Bray, commissioner of the New York State Division of Homeland Security and Emergency Services, said Thursday evening. Others who refuse to return to work on Friday will also be fired, and will face possible disciplinary action, civil contempt charges or criminal prosecution, Ms. Bray said. Those who return to work on Friday can avoid all of that, Ms. Bray said. Striking corrections officers and sergeants who already quit, who were fired, or who face contempt charges or other disciplinary actions will have their records swept clean and their jobs reinstated, but only if they accept the terms offered Thursday night. 'This deal will not be offered again,' Ms. Bray said. 'We want you back. We need you back. You need to come back to work tomorrow.' The state's offer was authorized by Gov. Kathy Hochul, said Avi Small, a spokesman for the governor. The deal offered Thursday did not include the New York State Correctional Officers and Police Benevolent Association, the union that represents prison guards. The schism between the union's leaders and members dates at least to Feb. 17, when corrections officers at two prisons declared a strike that was not authorized by their union. After the work action spread to nearly all the state's prisons, the union negotiated an agreement with the corrections department that would have ended the strikes on March 1. Most officers ignored the agreement and continued to strike. In response, Mr. Martuscello said, he spent much of the last week traveling the state, speaking with strikers over the phone. He also ordered his deputies to go the picket lines and speak with workers directly. Those conversations informed the compromise offer, which Mr. Martuscello announced on Thursday. Because that process excluded the union, union leaders said they would not sign on to the deal. That appeared to raise questions about whether the deal would be legally binding, even if striking officers did return to work on Friday. 'This agreement was not negotiated with NYSCOPBA — the legally recognized entity through which all negotiations must be conducted,' James Miller, a spokesman for the union, said in an email. Governor Hochul deployed National Guard troops to staff the prisons and maintain order. At least nine prisoners have died during the strikes, including two men at Auburn Correctional Facility in central New York who did not receive needed medical treatment in time. At Sing Sing Correctional Facility, in the Hudson Valley, no one intervened as a man hanged himself in his cell. Eleven corrections staff members were placed on administrative leave after the death on March 1 of Messiah Nantwi, 22, an inmate at Mid-State Correctional Facility, a medium-security prison in Marcy, N.Y. Nine prisoners interviewed by The New York Times said Mr. Nantwi had been brutally beaten by corrections officers. Their accounts could not be independently confirmed, and Thomas Mailey, a prisons spokesman, said the death was under investigation. In some prisons, inmates went without hot food and showers because of the strikes. In others, they have missed court dates or have been confined in housing areas for more than a week.
Fox News
28-02-2025
- Politics
- Fox News
NY corrections officers want Dem prison-reform repeal, say deal ending strike 'slap in the face'
New York officials have reached an agreement to end a two-week unsanctioned strike by correctional officers over Democrat-backed prison reforms that they say have made conditions "unsafe," but a GOP lawmaker argued the deal fails to address "the basics of what people are angry about." "The things that they're most upset about are things that are the subject of legislation," Republican state Sen. Daniel Stec told Fox News Digital in an interview Friday. The mediated deal was reached late Thursday between the New York State Correctional Officers, the government-affiliated corrections officers union, Police Benevolent Association (NYSCOPBA) and the state's Department of Corrections and Community Supervision (DOCCS). However, since some 15,000 correction workers have been on a "wildcat strike," they were not present during negotiations, and a spokesperson for the striking workers told CBS the deal does not go far enough. "The issues have always been there," Stec said. "Officer safety mandated overtime, some of these guys are working so much overtime that they're never home, and it's thrust upon them. On top of that, during the nature of their job, they're working, sometimes they are forced to work 24 or more hours consecutively." At issue is a piece of prison reform legislation, the Humane Alternatives to Long-Term Solitary Confinement Act (HALT), that strikers want repealed. The law restricts solitary confinement and instead focuses on other rehabilitation methods, but since it went into effect in 2022, GOP lawmakers, citing department stats, say it has led to a 169% increase in inmate-on-inmate assaults, a 76% increase in inmate-on-staff assaults and a 32% jump in contraband cases. "She doesn't care, she cares about the inmates and their rights. [The deal] is a slap in every officer's face." Stec said "it's not safe for the officers, it's not safe inside for anybody" and said "this has been pointed out to the administration time and time again since before they put HALT into effect." One mom of a corrections officer told Fox News Digital on Friday, "These are things that our governor doesn't care about." "She doesn't care, she cares about the inmates and their rights," she said. "[The deal] is a slap in every officer's face." Upon the released agreement, Gov. Kathy Hochul said in part, "My top priority is the safety of all New Yorkers, and for the past 11 days, I have deployed every possible State resource to protect the well-being of correction officers, the incarcerated population and local communities across New York." "Working with a mediator, we have reached a consent award to address many of the concerns raised by correction officers, put DOCCS back on the path to safe operations, respect the rights of incarcerated individuals and prevent future unsanctioned work stoppages," she said. In a letter alongside the agreement, Mediator Martin F. Scheinman proposed a binding "Consent Award" that would formalize agreements reached in mediation and be enforceable by court order. He noted the enforcement of such an agreement is complicated by a temporary restraining order, which renders judicial enforcement difficult while the strike continues. He said the Consent Award will only be signed once the court order is complied with. "I will not issue a CONSENT AWARD I believe will be unenforceable judicially," Scheinman wrote. The mediation agreement temporarily suspends key provisions of the HALT Act for 90 days, with a review by the DOCCS commissioner after 30 days to determine if the suspension should continue. Following the suspension, a "circuit breaker" staffing metric will be implemented to prevent mandatory 24-hour overtime shifts, requiring facility adjustments if staffing falls below 70%. The agreement also says protesting officers will be shielded from disciplinary action if they return to work by March 1, but those involved in illegal activities will face penalties. Other provisions include pay increases, referral bonuses, mental health support and security screening to curtail drugs in the prison mail system. Additionally, the National Guard – which Hochul requested after thousands of officers did not show up to work – will remain onsite. Stec said corrections officers see the deal as something the state is seeking to "shovel money at." "In reading the agreement, there's a lot of discussion in there about overtime and money, and people are always going to talk about money, but the impetus to this has always been about their safety," he said. Beginning on Feb. 17, two officers from the New York Department of Corrections began striking over "unsafe" conditions in their facilities, and support quickly cascaded across 38 of the state's 42 prisons, leading to thousands of workers participating in the strike without union approval, which is prohibited under New York law. Days before the strike, officials at the Collins Correctional Facility in Erie County implemented a lockdown following an inmate uprising. Hochul threatened legal action earlier this week against striking correctional officers, announcing during a press conference that proceedings have commenced against nearly 400 officers, with New York State Police serving restraining orders to 380 individuals. Hochul said officers remaining on strike are considered absent without leave (AWOL), resulting in the loss of state health benefits and legal representation previously provided by their union. "They know they are in violation of the New York State Taylor law," Hochul said during the press conferece. "They are also in violation of a temporary restraining order to return to work. We offered an amnesty period where they could go back to work, no questions asked." Fox News Digital has reached out to Hochul's office and the NYSCOPBA for comment.
