Senate Bill S2509

                                 
BILL NUMBER: S2509

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), for which a conviction 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, as well as the significant toll 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 resulted in the transfer of an
incarcerated individual from a county jail to a NYSDOCCS facility.  All
of these SJO's cite either mental health, behavior, or medical concerns
as the reasoning for the transfers. This means that 58 individuals, who
would not otherwise be held in custody in a state prison, were nonethe-
less sent to be held there, despite their presumed innocence.  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 indi-
viduals 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 close-
ly, to another county jail that is more equipped to work with individ-
uals with specialized needs, or to facilitate their release from custo-
dy.

One example of why the existing law must be repealed is the story of a
pretrial detainee, Alex Mirzaoff, who was transferred from a county jail
to a NYSDOCCS facility in 2023--despite never having been convicted of
an offense-and 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. His medical conditions require
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. He 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 sponsor of this bill.
https://nysfocus.com/2023/12/21/boarding- outprison-jail-new-york-attica

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.

The recent tragic case of Robert Brooks, who was brutally beaten to
death by DOCCS staff in December 2024, while not related to Correction
Law section 504, underscores the urgent need for broad and systemic
reform within corrections.

These all-too-common occurrences are just a few examples of the count-
less failures in accountability and care within the current framework.

The egregious, but not isolated, examples of Mr. Mirzaoff and Mr.  Dozi-
er emphasize the necessity of repealing this section of the law.  Doing
so would ensure that no one else must experience the level of trauma
described above and would only permit county-to-county level transfers.

 
PRIOR LEGISLATIVE HISTORY: SENATE:

2024: S7795 (Salazar) - Referred to Crime Victims, Crime & Correction,
reported to Finance.

2023: S7795 (Salazar) - referred to Rules ASSEMBLY:

2024: A10126 (Meeks) - Referred to correction  
FISCAL IMPLICATIONS:

None.

 
EFFECTIVE DATE:
Immediately