‘A Crazy System’: How Arbitration Puts Abusive Guards Back in New York Prisons
Over a 12-year span, three out of every four state correctional officers fired for abuse or covering it up got their jobs back.
![Correctional officers are being blocked from a door of a prison on the left side of an illustration. They walk around the corner, removing their uniforms, only to be welcomed back to a door on the right side of the prison. Their uniforms are returned to them in the process.](https://imgproxy.gridwork.co/__nb6wmG_e4No8fWsaRF2hfS4mjRxxjRyTS8VMUhZpI/w:820/h:429/rt:fill/g:fp:0.5:0.5/q:90/f:jpg/el:1/aHR0cHM6Ly9zMy51cy1lYXN0LTIuYW1hem9uYXdzLmNvbS9ueXNmb2N1cy9NYXJzaGFsbC1Qcm9qZWN0LVByaXNvbi1HdWFyZC1GaW5hbC5qcGc.jpg)
This article was published in partnership with The Marshall Project, a nonprofit news organization covering the US criminal justice system. Sign up for their newsletters, and follow them on Instagram, TikTok, Reddit, and Facebook.
This article was published in partnership with The Marshall Project, a nonprofit news organization covering the US criminal justice system. Sign up for their newsletters, and follow them on Instagram, TikTok, Reddit, and Facebook.
“They’re protecting the bad COs.”
![A view of the entrance gate of Attica Correctional Facility in New York, at dusk.](https://imgproxy.gridwork.co/Ow76IDYTbnxmyJX0I4uc3X088epPvFaS94ynxE4K4Lc/w:820/h:449/rt:fill/g:fp:0.5:0.5/q:90/el:1/aHR0cHM6Ly9zMy51cy1lYXN0LTIuYW1hem9uYXdzLmNvbS9ueXNmb2N1cy9BSU5TV09SVEhfUEQtQVJCSVRSQVRJT05fYXR0aWNhXzIzMTIxMy5qcGc.jpg)
“Unfortunately, the department as a whole has been very comfortable with lying on reports for years.”
“It is a system that is independent, fair, and just.”
![A view of the exterior of Great Meadow Correctional Facility during the day. Cars are parked in front of the orange-brown colored building, which has arched windows.](https://imgproxy.gridwork.co/EDhiLFkq49T1b66o1vW5Rey9jpei_CjfwJ_6Rmj6jqk/w:820/h:464/rt:fill/g:fp:0.5:0.5/q:90/el:1/aHR0cHM6Ly9zMy51cy1lYXN0LTIuYW1hem9uYXdzLmNvbS9ueXNmb2N1cy9BTEJBTllUSU1FU1VOSU9OX1BELUFSQklUUkFUSU9OX0dyZWF0X01lYWRvd19Db3JyZWN0aW9uYWxfMjMxMjEzLmpwZw.jpg)
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![](https://imgproxy.gridwork.co/aToCApbK6-aCsNV8ncNtXFFoqGHYQbsCY5if-vvp5V0/w:135/h:190/rt:fill/g:fp:0.5:0.5/q:90/f:jpg/el:1/aHR0cHM6Ly9zMy51cy1lYXN0LTIuYW1hem9uYXdzLmNvbS9ueXNmb2N1cy9KTi1oZWFkc2hvdC1oaS1yZXMuanBlZw.jpg)
Great Meadow and Sullivan prisons are slated to shut down in November. The state could close up to three more over the next year.
More counties are turning to private corporations to run medical care in jails. The companies have deadly track records.
Joseph Moran has long faced accusations of dishonesty — even from fellow officers — records show.