Bills we Support

Robert Brooks Agenda for justice

Advancing Fairness and Accountability in the Criminal Justice System

On December 9th, 2024, Correction Officers at the Marcy Correctional facility brutally beat Robert Brooks to death. Surveillance footage captured the unprovoked attack, exposing not just the officers’ unchecked violence, but the system that enables it. On March 1, 2025.corrections staff at New York's Mid-State Correctional facility beat another prisoner, Messiah Nantwi, to death. Indictments have been handed down for murder, manslaughter and other crimes in both cases.

The records of the New York State Attorney General's office–which defends the Department of Corrections and Community Supervision in civil cases–demonstrate that this wasn’t an isolated incident. This is routine. This is state-sanctioned murder. We refuse to let this atrocity be ignored. We demand accountability. We demand justice. We demand immediate legislative action to address the inhumane conditions in our state prisons. The system cannot police itself—real change starts now!

The Omnibus Prison Reform bill

The Omnibus Prison Reform bill, passed by the New York State Legislature in June 2025, significantly strengthens prison oversight, transparency, and accountability, particularly regarding the deaths of incarcerated people. The legislation is a direct response to the in-custody deaths of Robert Brooks and Messiah Nantwi. The package of reforms was sent to Governor Kathy Hochul for her consideration. 

Key provisions of the omnibus bill

The legislation focuses primarily on increasing outside scrutiny and surveillance of New York's correctional facilities. 

Accountability and investigation:

  • Video surveillance: Requires round-the-clock video and audio surveillance in all common areas of correctional facilities, with no blind spots.

  • Prompt disclosure of video footage: Mandates that video footage related to the death of an incarcerated person involving a correction officer be disclosed to the Attorney General's office within 72 hours.

  • Autopsy requirements: Incorporates the "Terry Cooper Autopsy Accountability Act," which requires autopsy reports to include all photographs, x-rays, and microscopic slides collected by the medical examiner. 

Transparency and reporting:

  • Mandatory public death notices: Requires the Department of Corrections and Community Supervision (DOCCS) to publish a public notice of an incarcerated person's death on its website within 24 hours.

  • Timely family notification: Requires DOCCS to notify the next of kin of the circumstances surrounding a death within 24 hours.

  • Statute of limitations for lawsuits: Extends the statute of limitations for formerly incarcerated people to sue the state for injuries incurred in prison to three years after their release. 

Expanded oversight bodies:

  • Expanded Commission of Correction: Increases the number of commissioners on the State Commission of Correction (SCOC) from three to nine, and requires a study on deaths in state correctional facilities.

  • Strengthened Correctional Association of New York (CANY): Reduces the notice required for CANY to inspect state prisons from 72 to 24 hours, and grants the organization routine access to administrative records. 

Attorney General's office:

  • Conflict of interest removal: Creates a process to remove conflicts of interest that could prevent the Attorney General from prosecuting DOCCS employees, allowing for the appointment of a special attorney if needed. 

Excluded reforms

While the omnibus bill addressed oversight and transparency, it notably did not include broader sentencing and parole reforms advocated for by activists. These excluded measures include: 

  • The Fair and Timely Parole Act

  • The Elder Parole Act

  • The Second Look Act

  • The Earned Time Act 

Summary of Bills Proposed

  • S1671 (Salazar) / A5355 (Tapia)

    Shifts discipline to the Commissioner of Corrections when there is serious misconduct by Correction Officer.

  • S651 (Salazar) / A3781 (Weprin)

    Entrusts the Corrections Association of New York to investigate conditions in New York State prisons.

  • A1010A (Epstein) / S5680 (Salazar)

    Requires the timely notice of death that occur during custody

  • S856 (Salazar) / A2315 (Gallagher)

    Ensures diversity through expansion of the SCOC

  • S360 (Rivera) / A2149 (Gonzalez-Rojas)

    Enhances oversight of correctional healthcare by increasing the Department of Health’s authority to investigate and evaluate healthcare services in correctional facilities.

  • S158 (Salazar) / A1283 (Walker)

    Allows judicial review when evidence is presented of rehabilitation.

  • S844 (Salazar) / A649 (Cruz)

    Extends statue of limitations for those incarcerated who fear retribution while in custody

  • S342 (Cooney) / A1085 (Kelles)

    Allows for incarcerated individuals to earn time off their sentences

  • A7014 (Tapia) / S7312 (Salazar)

    A Bill relating to the elimination of surveillance dead zones

Together we can create a more just and humane system for those who are currently incarcerated while bringing transparency and accountability to a system meant to rehabilitate.

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Together, we can move beyond reaction—and toward a future where prisons are no longer places of violence, but spaces of accountability, safety, and human dignity.

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