Senate Bill S7795

                                 
BILL NUMBER: S7795

SPONSOR: SALAZAR
 
TITLE OF BILL:

An act to repeal certain provisions of the correction law relating to
the transfer of incarcerated individuals from a county jail to a state
correctional institution

 
PURPOSE OR GENERAL IDEA OF BILL::

This bill repeals paragraph 2 of Section 504 of the Correction Law.
Repealing this section would continue to permit jail-to-jail transfers
in accordance with the law but would eliminate the current provision
that permits jail to prison transfers.

 
SUMMARY OF PROVISIONS::

Section 1. Repeals paragraph 2 of Section 504 of the Correction Law.

Section 2. Provides for the effective date.

              

 
JUSTIFICATION::

County and local jails hold individuals who are pretrial detainees,
individuals sentenced to local terms of incarceration, individuals who
have been convicted and are awaiting sentencing, and individuals who
have been sentenced to terms of imprisonment in a NYSDOCCS facility but
are awaiting transfer.

Pretrial detainees - many of whom are not even charged with felony
offense(s), the conviction of which could result in a state prison
sentence are deemed to be innocent unless and until proven guilty at
trial beyond a reasonable doubt or otherwise convicted by a guilty plea.
Individuals in this category should never be transferred to or held in a
state prison.

Similarly, individuals who have been convicted and sentenced to a local
term of incarceration - most of whom were not convicted of felony
offense(s) should never be transferred to or held in a state prison.

The only people who should ever be held in a state prison are individ-
uals who have been duly convicted of felony offense(s) and have been
sentenced to a term of incarceration in a state prison.

The principle that no one should be held in a state prison unless they
have been convicted of an offense that could carry a state prison
sentence and have, in fact, been so sentenced, seems so obvious it
should not have to be said. However, existing New York law provides for
the transfer of certain individuals - who otherwise would never be held
in a state prison - to state prison. This bill eliminates that
provision.

If an individual in a local facility has specific needs that are not
able to be met by a county jail and a transfer is required, this should
be done on a county-to-county level, or to appropriate outside medical
or mental health entities. When an individual is designated to a
NYSDOCCS facility from a county jail, regardless of the reason, there
are numerous issues that could and do occur. This includes uncertainty
about who is ultimately responsible for meeting the medical, program-
ming, and mental health needs of the incarcerated individual on a day-
to-day basis, and the profound impact on an individual's mental health
and well-being having to reside in a NYSDOCCS facility without being
convicted or sentenced.

According to NYSDOCCS, in 2023 there were at least 58 Substitute Jail
Orders (SJO's) in New York State that designated an incarcerated indi-
vidual to a NYSDOCCS facility from a county jail. All of these SJO's
cite either mental health, behavior, or medical concerns as the reason-
ing for the transfers. This means that there were 58 individuals who
would not otherwise be held in custody in a state prison who, nonethe-
less, were sent to be held in a state prison.  While a county jail may
not be equipped to meet the needs of all individuals and a transfer
might be necessary, NYSDOCCS facilities are also not equipped to meet
the needs of more severe cases considering their high caseloads and
significantly low staffing numbers. Rather than transferring individuals
to NYSDOCCS facilities, a practical and effective solution might be to
transfer individuals with mental health and medical needs to outside
medical facilities where their care can be monitored more closely, to
another county jail that is more equipped to work with individuals with
specialized needs, or to facilitate their release from custody.

One pretrial detainee transferred from a county jail to a NYSDOCCS
facility in 2023 - despite never having been convicted of an offense -
reported horrific and inhumane treatment, with very little clarity from
NYSDOCCS or the county as to who was responsible for meeting the needs
of this individual. This person has a medical condition requiring
consistent medication, which was reportedly not provided despite multi-
ple requests and pleas for help. This led to the onset of rapid physical
and cognitive decline. This individual also has a severe mental health
condition that was not being met with proper medication and treatment,
despite advocacy from his family and from the office of the Senate spon-
sor of this bill. Ultimately, he was released from the NYSDOCCS facility
because he was released from the jail without being sentenced to any
time in a NYSDOCCS facility.

Similarly in 2019, Plush Dozier was designated to a NYSDOCCS facility
from a county jail due to the county's alleged inability to meet Mr.
Dozier's mental health needs. As reported in an article in the Democrat
and Chronicle - https://www.democratandchronicle.com/story/news
/2019/03/29/attica-correctional-facility- rochester-ny-manplush-dozier-
not- convicted-of-crime/3160619002/ -

Mr. Dozier has a documented, lengthy history of severe mental illness
that, when untreated, can lead to hallucinations, aggression, paranoia,
and delusions. When Mr. Dozier was transferred to the NYSDOCCS facility,
he was placed in solitary confinement due to the behaviors exhibited by
his seemingly untreated mental health condition. Other incarcerated
individuals reported that correctional staff severely abused Mr. Dozier,
and his sister reports that he was suicidal and feared for his life at
that facility.

These are just two of many individuals that were transferred to NYSDOCCS
prisons from county jails without being sentenced to prison.  Repealing
this section of the law will ensure that no one else has to experience
this level of trauma and will only permit county-to-county level trans-
fers.
 
PRIOR LEGISLATIVE HISTORY::

New Bill.

 
FISCAL IMPLICATIONS::

None.

 
EFFECTIVE DATE::

Immediately