ROME â Members of the New York State Correctional Officers and Police Benevolent Association called on Gov. Andrew Cuomo on Wednesday to put future state prison closures on hold.
NYSCOPBA held a news conference urging the governor and the state Department of Corrections and Community Supervision not to close any more prisons until a study can be commissioned to address violence inside prisons amid a steady decline in the inmate population.
NYSCOPBA Western Region Vice President Mark DeBurgomaster discussed how the COVID-19 pandemic has affected the union and its members. He noted their members did not work from home during the pandemic, but worked in confined spaces, putting their health at risk. He said some of their members died because of COVID. He said members worked through the closure of three facilities.
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A fatal accident on the state Thruway Thursday afternoon caused traffic to be diverted onto Route 34 in Weedsport.
According to a news release from state police, a crash involving a box truck and a tractor trailer occurred at about 12:45 p.m. in the town of Tyre in Seneca County. Police said that one driver had been confirmed to have died.
Police were still investigating the crash at 3:15 p.m.
The Thruway Authority reported that the accident had blocked both westbound lanes between Weedsport Exit 40 and Waterloo Exit 41, and a traffic alert posted at 2:23 p.m. said that westbound traffic would be halted until further notice. The Thruway Authority had earlier reported delays and stop-and-go traffic in the same area.
New York Correctional Officers Sue Over Solitary Confinement
In March of this year, Governor Andrew Cuomo signed a new law that put limits on solitary confinement for inmates in New York correctional facilities. Members of the correctional facility unions are fighting back against the new law, and they are suing to overturn it.
The Humane Alternatives to Solitary Confinement Act reduces the amount of time that an inmate can spend in solitary confinement in correctional facilities. The maximum amount of time that an inmate can spend in isolation has been limited to 15 days. Inmates between the ages of 18 and 21 will no longer be allowed to be placed in solitary confinement. The law also expands services available to inmates before they re-enter the general population.
AUBURN â Citing the potential for more violence in prisons, the union representing New York correctional officers is suing to stop the implementation of a solitary confinement reform law Gov. Andrew Cuomo signed in April.Â
The New York State Correctional Officers and Police Benevolent Association filed the lawsuit in federal court on Monday. While the main focus is on stopping the changes to solitary confinement protocols, the union is also accusing the defendants, including Cuomo and the state Department of Corrections and Community Supervision, of civil rights violations. Those allegations stem from injuries sustained by individual plaintiffs â correctional officers who were attacked while working in prisons.Â
PUBLISHED 8:29 PM ET May. 10, 2021 PUBLISHED 8:29 PM EDT May. 10, 2021
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The union that represents correctional officers in New York filed a federal civil rights lawsuit against the state and the Department of Corrections in an effort to overturn legislation that limits the use of solitary confinement in prisons.
“If it wasn t for someone hearing my screams, I don t know how this situation would have turned out,” corrections officer Hayes said, detailing an attack she experienced last year while working in a prison. “I was viciously attacked. The HALT bill is designed to help the most violent incarcerated individuals. The HALT bill is also designed to hurt those who protect and serve the state of New York.”