FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

December 19, 2025  

End Prison Violence Campaign Responds to Governor Hochul’s Weakened Omnibus Prison Reform Package

(ALBANY, NY) – Today we acknowledge an important but incomplete step toward ending the epidemic of violence in New York’s prisons. Governor Hochul’s decision to sign portions of the Omnibus Prison Reform Package - which was championed by the legislature through the leadership of Speaker Carl Heastie, Majority Leader Andrea Stewart-Cousins, Senator Julia Salazar and many others - reflects what our families, advocates, clergy, and communities have been saying for months: meaningful, systemic change is urgently needed and long overdue. The measures that were approved will provide added protections and greater transparency for the people who remain behind those walls. We do not take that lightly.

But this moment is also marked by disappointment. Several critical provisions that were passed by both houses of the legislature were weakened or removed. These revisions include measures the families of those harmed or killed in custody fought for at great personal cost. The End Prison Violence campaign is dedicated to building on this significant first step towards reform marked by the passage of the Omnibus Prison Reform bill. 

“This campaign was built after the murder of my son in partnership with families who have buried loved ones, by people who survived incarceration, and by allies who see the inhumane system in our backyard. Today we celebrate partial justice, while the full truth of what is happening inside remains unaddressed. We will continue to fight for the full transformation of the prison system that incarcerated people and their families deserve,” said Robert Ricks, father of Robert Brooks and co-founder of the End Prison Violence Campaign.