S856

The New York State Senate passed legislation to expand the State Commission of Correction from three to nine commissioners, with a vote of 40-21. Senate Print 856, sponsored by Sen. Salazar, aims to strengthen oversight of the state's 42 correctional facilities by increasing agency capacity and requiring commissioners to have diverse expertise in areas including criminal defense and public health. Salazar cited recent murders of incarcerated men Robert Brooks and Messiah Nantwi by corrections staff as evidence of systemic failures in prison oversight. "Their preventable deaths are a stain on the State of New York," Salazar said, arguing that adequate oversight could have prevented the violence. The bill takes effect immediately. Twenty-one senators voted against the measure, including Ashby, Borrello, Canzoneri-Fitzpatrick, Chan, Gallivan, Griffo, Helming, Lanza, Mattera, Murray, Oberacker, O'Mara, Ortt, Palumbo, Rhoads, Rolison, Stec, Tedisco, Walczyk, Weber, and Weik.