A year ago, Robert Brooks was beaten at the Marcy Correctional Facility in Utica, and multiple guards have been charged in his death. On the anniversary, advocates in Albany called on New York Gov. Kathy Hochul to sign an Omnibus Prison Reform package.
Advocates and lawmakers gathered at a local library in Albany Tuesday to host a day of remembrance for Robert Brooks, a 43-year-old incarcerated man who was beaten at the Marcy Correctional Facility on Dec. 9, 2024. He died from his injuries the following morning.
A formerly incarcerated pastor led the group in prayer after lawmakers and advocates spoke about Brooks and the criminal justice reform proposals.
The Omnibus Reform Package consists of bills that aim to create safer environments inside New York State Department of Corrections and Community Supervision facilities. The bills passed both houses in the New York State Legislature in June and currently await Hochul’s signature. Among other changes, the bills would require correctional facilities to disclose video footage related to inmate deaths in a timely manner and to adhere to set standards concerning access to video footage.
On Tuesday, New York Assemblymember Gabriella Romero, a Democrat who represents parts of Albany, spoke about the importance of prison reform, focusing on the need to create standards that eliminate camera dead-zones in correctional facilities.
“The negativity and the abuse and the literal sexual negativity, the actual rapes happen in those unrecorded corners," said Romero. "And when those things happen, people are unable to get justice. That is wrong and that is why we need light to be shed on those corners. We need there to be cameras there.”
Four prison guards have been sentenced to prison terms for their involvement in Brooks’ death. The beating was captured on guards’ body camera footage. The trial of three other guards ended in October with a conviction for one guard and an acquittal for two others.
In a statement released Tuesday, Hochul, a Democrat, said, “Every single individual who enters a DOCCS facility deserves to be safe, whether they are employed there or serving their time."
