Enacts the "correctional abuse accountability act"; requires actions by the department if a correctional officer seriously harms or is responsible for the death of an incarcerated individual.
NEW YORK STATE ASSEMBLY MEMORANDUM IN SUPPORT OF LEGISLATION submitted in accordance with Assembly Rule III, Sec 1(f)
BILL NUMBER: A6640
SPONSOR: Zinerman TITLE OF BILL:
An act to amend the correction law, in relation to correctional officer
conduct and penalty for maltreatment of an incarcerated individual
PURPOSE OR GENERAL IDEA OF BILL:
To ensure that any correctional officers that has caused any harm to an
inmate gets removed immediately to maintain the safety of inmates, and
to hold correctional officers accountable
SUMMARY OF PROVISIONS:
Section 1. Short title. This act shall be known and may be cited as 2
the "correctional abuse accountability act".
Section 2. Section 137 of the correction law is amended by adding a new
4 subdivision 5-a to read as follows:
5-a. (a) If a departmental correctional officer is involved in the seri-
ous injury, harm, or other maltreatment, as provided for in subdivision
five of this section, of an incarcerated individual, such officer shall
be removed immediately and placed into a different position within the
department in which the officer shall have no direct contact with any
incarcerated individuals.
(b) If a department correctional officer is charged with involvement in
the homicide of an incarcerated individual, such officer shall be placed
om leave during the course of the department's investigation. If the
officer is found to have been involved in the homicide, such officer's
employment with the department shall be terminated immediately.
(c) No provision of this subdivision shall be interpreted as shielding
such an officer from civil or criminal action. Department investigation
need not to be completed or have implicated the officer before a civil
or criminal action may be commenced.
Section 3. This act shall take effect immediately.
JUSTIFICATION:
This legislation will provide the necessary measures aimed to ensure
protection for inmates, as well as accountability within the correction-
al institutions
Current events, like the Robert Brooks case, illustrate how urgently
extensive supervision and reform are needed.
Under the presumed supervision of correctional staff, Robert Brooks, an
inmate at the Marcy Correctional Center, suffered severe beatings before
passing away from the injuries he suffered. Investigations showed that
some of the policemen who had abused Brooks were also being investigated
for another instance in which they had used excessive force to seriously
injure another inmate. The current state of unregulated violence in
correctional facilities indicates to a systemic issue that needs to be
resolved by stronger legislative measures.
Robert Brooks' death is not an isolated instance; actually, it is a part
of an alarming pattern of unregulated violence in correctional facili-
ties. Internal accountability procedures failed, as evidenced by the
fact that some of the involved officers were already under investigation
for past abuse. These abuses will continue in the absence of legislative
action, putting further strain on public confidence in the legal system.
To stop tragedies in the future, hold wrongdoers accountable, and
rebuild the integrity of the criminal system, the Correctional Abuse
Accountability Act is needed. No incarcerated person, regardless of
their background, will be faced with inhumane or cruel treatment by
those assigned with their care because of this legislation.
PRIOR LEGISLATIVE HISTORY:
New Bill
FISCAL IMPLICATIONS FOR STATE AND LOCAL GOVERNMENTS:
N/A
EFFECTIVE DATE:
This act shall take effect immediately.
STATE OF NEW YORK
________________________________________________________________________
6640
2025-2026 Regular Sessions
IN ASSEMBLY
March 6, 2025
___________
Introduced by M. of A. ZINERMAN -- read once and referred to the Commit-
tee on Correction
AN ACT to amend the correction law, in relation to correctional officer
conduct and penalty for maltreatment of an incarcerated individual
The People of the State of New York, represented in Senate and Assem-bly, do enact as follows:
1 Section 1. Short title. This act shall be known and may be cited as
2 the "correctional abuse accountability act".
3 § 2. Section 137 of the correction law is amended by adding a new
4 subdivision 5-a to read as follows:
5 5-a. (a) If a department correctional officer is involved in the seri-
6 ous injury, harm, or other maltreatment, as provided for in subdivision
7 five of this section, of an incarcerated individual, such officer shall
8 be removed immediately and placed into a different position within the
9 department in which the officer shall have no direct contact with any
10 incarcerated individual.
11 (b) If a department correctional officer is charged with involvement
12 in the homicide of an incarcerated individual, such officer shall be
13 placed on leave during the course of the department's investigation. If
14 the officer is found to have been involved in the homicide, such offi-
15 cer's employment with the department shall be terminated immediately.
16 (c) No provision of this subdivision shall be interpreted as shielding
17 such an officer from civil or criminal action. Department investigation
18 need not be completed or have implicated the officer before a civil or
19 criminal action may be commenced.
20 § 3. This act shall take effect immediately.
EXPLANATION--Matter in italics (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
[] is old law to be omitted.
LBD09229-02-5
