It's time for Governor Khochul to close down Marcy Correctional Facilitya state prison so wracked by tragedy and dysfunction that keeping it open would do more harm than good.
Last week, Imam Abdallah Hadian, a civil servant who led religious services in Marsi, shot himself in the prison administration building. According to a statement from the state Department of Corrections and Community Supervision (DOCCS), other employees witnessed the suicide. In a statement following the incident, the Public Servants Federation (PEF) cited four suicides among PEF members working for DOCCS in the last two years.
Living and working conditions at Marcy Correctional Facility were virtually unknown to the public until December 9, 2024, when Robert Brooks was strangled and beaten to death by corrections officers in the prison infirmary's observation room. Body camera footage captured his murder. national newsand to date two of these officers have been convicted of murder.
These two horrific acts of violence will forever be etched in Marcie's memory. Imagine returning to work in this building and witnessing such horrors. The events of the past year should be sufficient reason to close the prison. But there are other good reasons.
Two years before Brooks' murder Correctional Association of New York (CANY) visited Marcy as part of an independent oversight of the state's prisons. Prisoners reported severe physical abuse by staff and we subsequently appealed to the state investigate these widespread allegations of abuse. Unfortunately, any measures that could be taken in response have proven insufficient.
When CANY returned to Marcy this past July, we documented dire conditions causing extreme suffering among the 90 inmates housed in the Residential Mental Health Unit (RMHU). We documented self-inflicted wounds and other evidence of the suffering of deeply troubled people. We observed dried feces as a result of “throwing.” The civilian adviser noted that it is difficult to find people willing to work at the RMCU.
According to CANY data obtained from the state Department of Mental Health, two inmates died by suicide in this department in 2024, despite frequent rounds by correctional officers. On September 8, attorneys for mentally ill people housed at Marcy's RMHU filed a lawsuit against DOCCS, citing “horrific” and “inhumane” conditions.
During our visit to Marcy, we spoke with staff who expressed despair that their work at the prison was “ruining” their family lives. In the week leading up to our visit, eight employees quit. We spoke with inmates who said that while the violence inherent in the prison culture has subsided thanks to the proper use of body cameras, due to staffing shortages, basic services at the prison are barely functioning.
Facility administrators told us that of the 322 correctional officer positions allocated to Marcy, there were 92 vacancies and 40 employees were on workers' compensation or other leave. In fiscal year 2024, Marcy had the highest workers' compensation incident rate of any of the state's 42 correctional facilities. As of the end of 2024, Marcy had the third highest rate of unusual incidents of any correctional facility and the highest of any medium security facility.
At Mid-State Correctional Facility, which is directly across the street from Marcy, there were 201 vacant correctional officers and 96 officers on leave in September; they should have 498 officers working for them. If the Marcy prison were to close, 190 correctional officers who had come to work at Marcy could be transferred to Mid-State, easing the severe staffing shortages plaguing both institutions and bringing much-needed relief to another prison that has already seen its share of tragedy this year.
For officers looking for different options, Mohawk Correctional Facility, located 12 miles to the west, had 135 correctional officer vacancies in April. The corrections officers union has historically opposed prison closures as a solution to the staffing crisis, arguing that its members would resign rather than work at a prison farther from home. In this case, transferring to Mid-State or Iroquois is unlikely to change anyone's commute.
The FY 2026 state budget authorized the governor to close as many as three prisons. In 2024, she approved the closure of Great Meadow Correctional Facility, for which she received an award. reputation as the most violent prison in the state. Once again, she has the opportunity to close a place of suffering and despair. We encourage her to embrace it.
Skaife is the company's executive director. Correctional New York Association.
