Hochul visits Marcy Correctional, demands answers in Brooks death

MARCY, N.Y. (WUTR/WFXV/WPNY) -- Governor Kathy Hochul was in Marcy on Monday, demanding answers after the death of Robert Brooks last week.

Brooks was the prisoner who died at the Marcy Correctional Facility on Tuesday, December 10 after an encounter with officers at the facility. Attorney General Letitia James released videos of the incident on Friday, December 27 as part of her office's investigation.

Hochul was at the facility on Monday, December 30 to meet with incarcerated individuals, as well as Department of Corrections and Community Supervision (DOCCS) officials, to announce corrective actions. The governor also ordered an immediate and full investigation into Brooks' death.

Hochul also directed DOCCS Commissioner Daniel Martuscello to terminate every person involved in the killing. Currently, 13 of them have been suspended without pay and one has resigned.

During her meeting, the governor directed Martuscello to appoint Bennie Thorpe as the new superintendent at Marcy Correctional Facility. Superintendent Thorpe currently sits as the superintendent at Shawangunk Correctional Facility in Walkill. Thorpe has spent more than 20 years working in corrections, including leadership roles at Hudson and Sing Sing Correctional Facilities.

Other corrective actions announced by the governor included:

• The expedition of $400 million to install fixed cameras and distribute body-worn cameras at all DOCCS facilities. According to the Governor's office, Martuscello has been directed to expand the policy for activating body-worn cameras whenever staff members come into contact with incarcerated individuals.
• Adding DOCCS staff to the Office of Special Investigations. The governor has said that this will ensure that complaints are handled immediately and that anyone found of wrongdoing will be held accountable in a timely manner.
• Directing DOCCS to bring in an outside firm to conduct a review of practices, culture and patters across the state's entire correctional system.
• Expanding the DOCCS whistleblower hotline to facilitate anonymous tips from employees and contractors as well as incarcerated individuals.
• Deploying $2 million to expand DOCCS' partnership with the Correctional Association of New York (CANY). The Association is charged with visiting and examining the state's correctional facilities.
• Launching a new partnership with AMEND, which is a public health and human rights program. The program works in prisons to assess the culture of facilities and offers recommendations to reduce misconduct and improve health and well-being. AMEND will also be reviewing training curriculums and provide recommendations to improve them.
• Launching a new partnership with Chicago Beyond. The program will be conducting analyses within several facilities to improve practices within the facilities.
• Creating a new dedicated unit on the future of prisons in the state within the Council of Community Justice. The unit would be tasked with:
  • creating a strategy for creating a healthier environment within correctional facilities,
  • creating and improving training and professional development for staff,
  • addressing staffing needs,
  • the state of healthcare in prisons,
  • analyzing the projected population for prisons over the next 20 years under different policy options, and
  • the physical state of facilities.

“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,” Governor Hochul said in a statement. “Mr. Brooks and his family did not deserve this. I told both Marcy 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. Today 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.”