New York, NY — State Senator Julia Salazar, Chair of the Committee on Crime Victims, Crime and Correction, released the following statement: 

“Today's sentencing of Correction Officer Walrath, who pled guilty to manslaughter in the first degree, marks another step toward legal accountability for the officers who murdered Robert Lee Brooks at Marcy prison last December. This moment also underscores the moral obligation to transform our state's violent prison system. Justice and meaningful change are what Mr. Brooks’s family has repeatedly asked for, and it is what all New Yorkers deserve. The Prison Reform Omnibus Bill that we passed in June must be signed into law to significantly increase transparency, accountability, and oversight, and help prevent further deadly violence in New York's prisons.”