Prison Union Describes ‘Unstable and Dangerous’ Conditions in Letter to Hochul

New York Public News Network | By Emily Russell, NCPR

The union that represents New York State corrections officers sent a letter to Gov. Kathy Hochul describing a crisis unfolding in the state’s prison system.

The letter from the NYS Correctional Officers & Police Benevolent Association, known as NYSCOPBA, said the situation is “increasingly unstable and dangerous for everyone who lives and works behind the walls.”

“What is unfolding inside our prisons is a systemic emergency marked by escalating violence, dangerous contraband, staff assaults, overdoses, exposures, and deaths.”

In the span of one week in April, three incarcerated people at three prisons in the North Country were killed. All three are being investigated as homicides, including one at Upstate Correctional in Malone, NY, where NYSCOPBA claims the alleged perpetrator’s history “shows this was not his first murder.”

The risk of double bunking

Two of the deaths in North Country prisons appear to have been in cells shared by two incarcerated people.

Nate Locke worked as a corrections officer for fifteen years, most recently at Upstate Correctional. He says double-bunking creates an unnecessary risk for incarcerated people.

“You wouldn’t have guys assaulting each other in their cells or raping each other in their cells or killing each other in their cells or abusing mental health systems within the facilities to get away from their cellmates if they didn’t have a bunkie. It just wouldn’t happen.”

In its letter, NYSCOPBA urged Gov. Hochul to end double-bunking. “A comprehensive, statewide strategy to reduce—and ultimately eliminate—double bunking where it compromises security and human safety is essential.”

Exposures to unknown substances

Another top issue of concern expressed by NYSCOPBA is related to drug exposures. Correction officers and other prison staff say they’re being exposed to substances on papers and other contraband brought into facilities.

Last year, 20 officers and prison staff at Upstate Correctional were hospitalized after being exposed to an unknown substance, including Locke.

“The nurses in the ER took blood pressure, and it was absolutely through the roof. [My] eyeballs got dilated, and then I remember getting in the ambulance, and I don’t remember anything after that,” said Locke.

According to the latest state data, the use of Narcan in New York’s prisons has gone up by more than 150% over the last five years.

Earlier this month, correction officer Monica Tebo was screening visitors at Mohawk Correctional in Rome, NY, when she had a severe reaction after sniffing an envelope carried in by a visitor.

She was taken to the hospital and placed on a ventilator. According to the Free Lance News, Tebo was in a drug-induced coma for nearly a week before she recovered. Four other staff members from Mohawk Correctional were also hospitalized after the incident.

Rising rates of violence

The letter also highlighted the rising rates of violence in New York’s prisons. According to the latest state data, harassment and assaults on staff are up more than 50% over the last five years. Meanwhile, the rate of violence between incarcerated people has risen much higher, up nearly 140% since 2021.

At Clinton Correctional in Dannemora, NYSCOPBA said eight officers were injured in the span of six days this spring. The union also highlighted assaults on staff at Coxsackie and Lakeview Correctional facilities.

“Our members are being assaulted. Our facilities are being flooded with contraband,” read the letter from NYSCOPBA. “Staff are being exposed to unknown and potentially lethal substances. Incarcerated individuals are overdosing, dying, and attacking one another.”

“The warning signs are everywhere.”

The role of the HALT Act

The address some of the strains on the prison system, NYSCOPBA requested “reasonable amendments” to the Humane Alternatives to Long-Term Solitary Confinement (HALT) Act.

Enacted in 2022, the HALT Act limits the use of solitary confinement in New York’s jails and prisons. But corrections officers and some incarcerated people say there should be more flexibility for punishing bad behavior behind bars.

A statewide HALT Committee, which NYSCOPBA participated in, recommended “expanding the range of serious offenses eligible for segregated confinement,” using special housing units for protective custody, “when there is an unreasonable safety risk.”

Assemblyman Robert Smullen, a Republican from Fulton County, has voiced support for amending the HALT Act, while Republican Assemblymen Matt Simpson and Scott Gray, both representing portions of the North Country, have called for the legislation to be repealed.

Image: A guard tower and barbed wire fencing stand outside Sing Sing, Sunday, Feb. 16, 2020 in Ossining, N.Y. (AP Photo/Mark Lennihan, File)