Gov. Hochul demands answers after the death of Robert Brooks, announces

Gov. Kathy Hochul visited Marcy Correction Facility on Monday, demanding answers from the facility’s interim leadership following the horrific death of Robert Brooks.

Hochul also met with a number of incarcerated individuals at Marcy who serve as liaisons for the larger incarcerated population and heard from them directly about their experiences.

The governor announced immediate corrective actions following her visit, and she previously ordered an immediate and full investigation into the death of Brooks and further directed New York State Department of Corrections and Community Supervision Commissioner Daniel Martuscello to begin the termination process for the 14 individuals who were involved in his fatal attack.

“Today, as I stood in the room where Robert Brooks was killed, I was once again heartbroken by this unnecessary loss of life and further sickened to think of the actions of depraved individuals with no regard for human life,” Hochul said in a statement. “Mr. Brooks and his family did not deserve this. I told both Marcy’s leadership and the incarcerated individuals that I met with that every single individual who enters a DOCCS facility deserves to be safe, whether they are employed there or serving their time. The system failed Mr. Brooks, and I will not be satisfied until there has been significant culture change.”

New York Governor Kathy Hochul pictured at a speaking engagement in White Plains, N.Y.

“I am implementing a number of new policies at Marcy and within DOCCS, and I look forward to continuing to hear ideas from experts, elected officials, and advocates as we continue this work.”

The FBI also recently announced it is looking into Brooks’ death.

Hochul pushes immediate changes

Hochul directed Department leaders to implement immediate changes to protect the safety and well-being of all DOCCS personnel and incarcerated individuals.

This includes:

Directing DOCCS Commissioner Martuscello to appoint Shawangunk Correctional Facility Superintendent Bennie Thorpe as the new permanent Superintendent of Marcy Correctional Facility. Superintendent Thorpe has spent more than two decades working in corrections, including leadership roles at Hudson Correctional Facility, Sing Sing Correctional Facility and now as Superintendent at Shawangunk. He has extensive experience in security operations and also has implemented programs like College in Prison and Rehabilitation Through the Arts. He is a career DOCCS employee who has never served at Marcy or nearby facilities, giving him expertise and a fresh perspective on what must be done.
Expediting $400 million to install fixed cameras and distribute body-worn cameras in all DOCCS facilities. Governor Hochul has already committed over $400 million for this initiative which has already invested millions of dollars in cameras across the system — the same body-worn cameras that were critical in capturing the horrific assault on Mr. Brooks. At the Governor’s direction, Martuscello has already expanded the policy for activating body-worn cameras whenever a staff member comes in contact with incarcerated individuals.
Adding DOCCS staff to the Office of Special Investigations to ensure that complaints are handled immediately and that anyone found of wrongdoing will be held accountable in a timely manner.
Directing DOCCS to engage an outside firm to conduct a review of the culture, patterns and practices, not only in Marcy, but across the correctional system.
Expanding the DOCCS whistleblower hotline to more effectively facilitate anonymous tips from DOCCS employees and contractors as well as incarcerated individuals.
Deploying $2 million to expand DOCCS’ partnership with the Correctional Association of NY (“CANY”), which is charged with visiting and examining the State’s correctional facilities under §146 of New York’s Correction Law. These funds will allow CANY to expand their ability to provide independent monitoring and oversight of state prisons in New York State, which is a critical step in providing independent and ongoing concerns and solutions to the agency.
Launching a new partnership with AMEND, a public health and human rights program that works in prisons to assess the operating culture of our facilities, offer recommendations to reduce misconducts and other adverse events among incarcerated individuals, and to improve health and wellbeing. AMEND will also review appropriate training curriculum and provide recommendations based on this review.
Launching a new partnership with Chicago Beyond to conduct a safety gap analysis within several facilities with the goal of deploying fresh, expert eyes within corrections facilities to identify improvements and develop best practices.
Creating a new dedicated unit on The Future of Prisons in New York State within the Council of Community Justice. The scope of work for the new exclusively dedicated unit would be broad, including (a) a strategy for creating a more healthy and safer environment of those who work and are incarcerated in our prisons; (b) the training and professional development of corrections staff; (c) staffing needs (a major national crisis); (d) the state of the economies of “prison towns” that would be impacted if prisons closed, building on the work of the previous commission; (e) the state of health care, particularly for the aging population; (f) the projected population for the prisons over the next 20 years (under different policy options for sentencing); and (g) the state of the physical plant.

Work already being done

The newly-announced actions build on the existing work directed by Hochul in the days following Brooks’ death.

These include:

Directing Martuscello to begin the termination process for all individuals involved in the killing. Currently 13 individuals have been suspended without pay and one individual has resigned.
Enhancing DOCCS’ body-worn camera policy by requiring correction officers to have their body cameras activated and on at any time they are engaging directly with our incarcerated population. DOCCS is also requiring daily audits to ensure that body cams are being activated and used within each facility.
Begin implementing an advanced performance matrix for body-worn camera oversight. DOCCS is working closely with the department’s body-worn camera vendor to implement advanced performance matrix, additional body-worn camera oversight, review and audit functionality that will allow us to safeguard those in the State’s care.
Expanding the requirements for senior leaders within each facility, known as the “Officer of the Day” policy, by ensuring senior leaders are present at all shifts in every facility.
DOCCS call with all correctional facility superintendents to reinforce the administration’s position of not tolerating the use of excessive force and the need to treat all people in the State’s care with dignity and respect.
Communicating with incarcerated individuals to address this incident with the incarcerated individual population and reemphasize the Department’s commitment to investigate and improve as an agency.

Hochul’s visit to Marcy was not open to the press.

This article originally appeared on Observer-Dispatch: Robert Brooks case: Gov. Hochul demands answers after inmate death

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