Lawmakers Call for Investigation Into Women’s Prison, Citing New York Focus Article

In December, Burdick and Harckham visited Bedford Hills and spoke with members of the Incarcerated Liaison Committee, representatives of the prison’s general population who communicate concerns to prison administrators. Committee members told the lawmakers that following the recent appointment of Deputy Superintendent of Security Michel Blot, there had been “significant changes in their schedules and privileges” that were negatively impacting mental health. They were now required to sign up for showers, for instance, during limited windows of time that often conflicted with prison jobs and programs. This meant many women were going without showers for days, according to currently incarcerated people and prison watchdogs. Thomas Mailey, director of public information for the prison agency, disputed the claim that shower access was limited or eliminated.

People close to Manuela “Mannie” Morgado, who died last week, noted that she had lived in Fiske Cottage, an honor dorm that afforded its residents certain privileges and insulated them from many issues affecting the general population. But Morgado had recently received a disciplinary ticket that could send her to the general population dorms, they said. Word of the stricter conditions in the general population living areas had made their way to Fiske.

Morgado’s official cause of death, as well as that of Tracy Morales, which advocates and people incarcerated at Bedford Hills also attributed to suicide, will be formally determined by the county medical examiner’s office, according to Mailey. The State Commission of Correction reviews all in-custody deaths, Mailey noted. Deaths not attributed to natural causes or ongoing medical conditions are investigated by the New York State Police and DOCCS’s Office of Special Investigations.