When a group of state prison guards were hit with criminal charges for beating a prisoner to death last month, Gov. Kathy Hochul promised a series of “safety reforms.”
She vowed money for additional security cameras, strengthening the office charged with investigating rogue staff and boosting pay for officers. The governor also mandated the use of body-worn cameras, expanded the department’s whistleblower hotlines and brought in outside experts for a systemwide culture review.
Nearly three weeks later, the governor’s promised prison overhaul is on a collision course with the state’s long history of keeping basic information about alleged abuses hidden from the public, according to advocates and national prison experts.
The push for change also comes after state correction officers went on strike for 19 days demanding the governor sign an executive order to repeal the Humane Alternatives to Long-Term Solitary (HALT) Act, hire more staff and eliminate mandatory overtime.
While most officers have returned to work, the state has fired approximately 2,000 guards and barred them from other state jobs.
At the same time, Department of Corrections and Community Supervision Commissioner Daniel Martuscello, using his discretion under the law, has paused the programming elements of the HALT law for the next 90 days.
Hochul and other state officials also refuse to name the 15 prison staffers placed on administrative leave for their alleged involvement in the fatal beating of another prisoner, Messiah Nantwi, at Mid-State Correctional Facility.
Nantwi, 22, died after he was assaulted by a group of correction officers, nine incarcerated people told The New York Times. Hochul has told reporters “early reports point to extremely disturbing conduct leading to Mr. Nantwi’s death.”
“I am committed to accountability for all involved,” she added.
But Hochul and prison officials have refused to say if any of the incident was captured on body cameras worn by officers — or make that footage public. At least some audio was caught on tape by an officer who had turned his camera away from the incident, according to a source briefed on the probe.
Prison officials also refuse to say if the officers placed on administrative duty are still being paid. Prison officials have the power to suspend staff without pay, as they did with the officers accused of beating to death Robert Brooks while he was handcuffed behind his back.
“Transparency about who these individuals were who were involved in the incident is critical, because it allows us to dig deeper,” said Michele Deitch, director of the Prison and Jail Innovation Lab at the University of Texas at Austin.
“What kind of backgrounds did they have?” she asked. “Had they ever been charged with disciplinary offenses before? What kind of relationships did they have with each other, with the incarcerated person?”
At least five of the prison staffers involved in Nantwi’s death are currently being sued by incarcerated people who allege some type of abuse, according to New York Attorney General Letitia James, who is representing the officers in those pending civil cases.
Multiple former prison guards were indicted on murder charges in the death of Robert Brooks at the Marcy Correctional Facility. Credit: Screengrab via New York State Attorney General
The state legislature in June 2020 passed a law granting the AG power to investigate all law enforcement deaths. But the AG is also charged with representing state employees hit with civil lawsuits tied to their jobs.
As a result, she recused herself from the probe into Nantwi’s death. Earlier this year, James also recused herself from investigating the Robert Brooks death at Marcy Correctional Facility on Dec. 10.
Additionally, she has refused to publicly name the officers in the Nantwi case, citing the ongoing probe by Onondaga District Attorney William Fitzpatrick, who she named to take over the case.
“I do not want to do anything that might interfere with his investigation,” said Alexis Richards, an AG spokesperson.
Asked how making the names public could potentially cause issues with the ongoing criminal probe, Richards responded, “Not saying it would, saying that it might, and as it’s not our case, it is not our place.”
A former top city Correction Department investigator said making the names public shouldn’t cause any issues with the ongoing criminal investigation.
“Being transparent inspires public confidence in the system,” said Florence Finkle, who oversaw internal investigations for the city Department of Correction from 2010 to 2014.
Thomas Mailey, a spokesperson for the state’s Department of Corrections and Community Supervision, said: “There will be an appropriate time to release the names of individuals who are found to be involved, however, we defer to law enforcement’s recommendations concerning the timing in order to maintain the integrity of their ongoing investigation.”
Joseph Coolican, Fitzpatrick’s first chief assistant district attorney, said he was “barred” from sharing the names of the officers due to the ongoing investigation.
Asked for the law he was referencing, responded, “Don’t argue with me. We are not commenting.”
Ignoring the Law
In June 2020, New York lawmakers voted to repeal New York Civil Rights Law section 50-A to make it easier for the public to gain access to disciplinary records from police and other public employees like corrections officers.
But some city and state agencies have ignored the new law and continued to scoff at sharing that information, according to multiple lawsuits.
In February 2023, the New York Civil Liberties Union sued the state Department of Corrections and Community Supervision for “unlawfully denying requests” made via the Freedom of Information Law.
Some of the records have been released and others are scheduled to be released in the coming months, under a settlement reached in September 2024.
Hochul speaks at her Midtown office alongside State Attorney General Letitia James, Nov. 6, 2024. Credit: Ben Fractenberg/THE CITY
“The full disciplinary records associated with all DOCCS personnel should have been available to the public as of June 2020, when Civil Rights Law section 50-a was repealed,” NYCLU assistant legal director Bobby Hodgson told THE CITY in a statement.
As for the Nantwi probe, the names of the officers and any video or audio records from the incident have also been kept from at least one top state lawmaker.
New York state Senator Julia Salazar (D-Brooklyn), who chairs the committee on Crime and Correction, told THE CITY that she hasn’t been given that basic information from DOCCS, the AG’s office or the governor’s team.
“The reality is that while I appreciate state commitments to transparency it seems that we have to legislate it,” she told THE CITY.
Salazar also notes that the Attorney General’s dual responsibilities of representing state employees and investigating law enforcement deaths creates a conflict. “This underscores the need for the legislature to revisit the special prosecutor law to resolve those conflicts,” she said.
Brooks, 43, was kicked and punched by guards who held him down on a medical bed at the prison, according to body camera footage from officers involved. On Dec. 27, James released footage of four officers at the scene who apparently didn’t realize the cameras were recording. At least three sergeants and a nurse were also present during the beatdown, the videos show.
The five officers seen beating Brooks on the video were hit with the top murder charges, by Onondaga County DA Fitzpatrick.
Corrections officers hold a picket line outside Green Haven prison in Dutchess County, Feb. 20, 2025. Credit: Reuven Blau/THE CITY
As part of Hochul’s broader prison reforms, the state has hired the law firm WilmerHale to conduct a review of patterns or practices at Marcy and other prisons following the Brooks murder.
Wilmer Hale served as counsel to the Working Group on Police Reform and Racial Justice of the US Conference of Mayors. In that case, the law firm released a detailed blueprint for improving policing and promoting equal justice in America’s cities.
But Hochul and her team refused to say whether the WimerHale review in the culture of DOCCS will be made public.
“The public distrusts the ability of law enforcement agencies to conduct thorough, objective, and fair internal investigations,” said Finkle, the vice president of the National Association for Civilian Oversight of Law Enforcement. “Which is why transparency and oversight are important.”
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