A bill awaiting the governor’s signature would relax restrictions on who can qualify for victim compensation.
In May, state lawmakers passed a $269 billion budget after haggling for months over thousands of line items and policies affecting New Yorkers.
The legislation would make it easier for currently and formerly incarcerated people and child victims to sue the state over allegations of past abuse.
It’s unclear whether the Correctional Association of New York will have to scale back its nascent reform initiatives.
The legislation comes after months of haggling over how best to protect New Yorkers from President Trump’s immigration crackdown.
Footage published by New York Focus sparked a debate over deputies’ practice of calling Border Patrol on Spanish-speaking drivers.
The governor has yet to nominate heads of the State Commission of Correction, which now lacks a quorum.
The prison system often postpones or rejects incarcerated people’s requests to be closer to their children, jeopardizing family ties.
Michel Blot was reassigned from Bedford Hills Correctional Facility to Sing Sing after prisoners and advocates raised concerns.
Oswego County sheriff’s deputies held drivers for up to 45 minutes as they waited for immigration agents, potentially breaking the law.
Hochul’s counter would limit informal collusion with ICE only in civil matters.
A federally mandated child welfare oversight body has called on the Office of Children and Family Services to curtail facilities’ use of isolation and increase transparency.
The bill follows reporting from New York Focus and other news outlets on prison staff mistaking menstrual and contraceptive products for hidden contraband.
Prison officials have refused to release crucial records on how the agency handles allegations of sexual abuse.
The governor and legislature are negotiating over immigration legislation outside of the budget process.
Amid a crisis in the state’s prison system, the governor’s and legislature’s budget proposals differ, but largely lack major reforms.
Two women have died by suicide and a third from cancer at Bedford Hills Correctional Facility, the reporting found.
This week’s death, which incarcerated people and advocates described as a suicide, comes at a time of turmoil in the facility.
When the governor doesn’t commute sentences, and the legislature won’t act, the carrot-and-stick system of rehabilitation disintegrates.
The investigator was initially placed on leave after New York Focus revealed that state gaming regulators ignored evidence of a massive horse doping ring.