Months after New York State lawmakers passed a series of legislation aiming to reduce violence in state prisons, Gov. Kathy Hochul has yet to sign the bill into law. 

Lawmakers have recently begun to put pressure on Hochul to sign and pass the legislation following a recent investigation by The New York Times that revealed an increase in the use of force in prisons over the past decade. 

On the evening of June 9, lawmakers agreed on an extensive list of prison reforms following the deaths of two inmates in 2024. 

After passing the Corrections Oversight Omnibus Bill and forwarding it to the governor’s desk shortly after, the bill has been sitting for months without Hochul’s signature. The bill aims to hold prison facilities accountable for the safety of inmates. 

According to Senator Andrea Stewart-Cousins, one of the law- makers who has called on Hochul to pass the bill, torture and abuse in prisons depict “both a moral failure and a systemic failure.” 

New York City Comptroller Brad Lander wrote a letter to the governor urging her to sign the bill on Sept. 9, “which consists of ten prison oversight and accountability bills.” 

According to Lander, there were 143 deaths reported by the Correctional Association of New York in 2024, an increase from the 107 deaths reported in 2023. 

Lander also cited an instance of violence against another inmate at Marcy Correctional Facility, where inmate Robert Brooks was beaten to death in December 2024. 

Lander also mentioned the ongoing crisis at Rikers Island, which has been dealing with severe overcrowding and increased violent incidents against inmates and guards. 

The Rikers facility has been waiting for the appointment of an outside official by a federal judge to help reduce excessive force and violence since August. 

Of the COOB bill’s 10 mandates, facilities would be required to release video footage related to the death of an inmate to the attorney general’s office within 72 hours of the incident, according to Spectrum News. 

The bill would also mandate 24-hour cameras throughout facilities without blind spots, except for in private areas such as showers, toilets and cells. 

The deaths of any persons would also be required to be made public, and immediate family must be notified within 24 hours. 

Jessica D’Amelia, deputy press secretary for Hochul, said that Hochul “has zero tolerance for violence of any kind.” 

She added that “anyone found responsible for any wrongdoing is held accountable to the fullest extent of the law.” 

An analysis by The Marshall Project in 2023 found that of the more than 290 cases in which the Department of Corrections tried to fire officers accused of physically abusing prisoners, only 28 were successfully removed. 

According to The Marshall Project, it is difficult to fire New York prison guards due to a union contract signed in 1972 that requires an outside judge to make the final decision in the firing, which can only be overturned by the court. 

Instead of going through a judge, the state will sometimes drop charges or the guard would resign or retire. 

“Guards accused of abuse are often suspended without pay — a three-month suspension [being the most common],” according to The Marshall Project. 

D’Amelia says that she has already taken steps to reduce violence in prisons, such as dedicating funds to internal investigations and speeding up the installation of cameras in facilities.

According to Jennifer Scaife, the executive director of the Correctional Association of New York, more cameras are not the solution. 

“We can’t just rely on a piece of technology to solve a culture reinforced over the years and re- inforced by public attitudes about who is in the prisons,” Scaife told The New York Times. 

New York’s struggles with prison violence and oversight are not new, as the state has a long history of prison reform dating back to the early 19th century. 

A 1976 report released by the Office of Justice Programs notes that earlier efforts were “more rehabilitative rather than custodial, such reforms have been largely structural, and have had a little impact on inmates.” 

For advocates pushing for Hochul to sign the legislation, the stalled bill represents a chance to break the current cycle of failure.