“Monday’s brutal assault on a civilian counselor and several correction officers at Lakeview Correctional Facility was horrific, preventable and the fault of the dangerous HALT Act, and its champions, Governor Hochul and the legislature's majorities.  

This disastrous law has stripped correction officers of the tools they need to discourage inmate violence and protect themselves. My thoughts are with the victims, who suffered serious injuries for simply doing their jobs and with all of our prison staff who go to work every day in the toughest environment possible, knowing that their boss – the governor – does not have their backs.

Thanks to reckless criminal justice policies, prison populations are increasingly concentrated with the most violent offenders – the worst of the worst, while other criminals are typically released back into our communities. The result is a system where correction officers face greater risks than ever before, without the tools they need to protect themselves and others.

In this case, these reckless policies meant that prison staff were forced to allow an inmate with a documented history of prison violence to enter a classroom unrestrained with a civilian employee, a teacher who is dedicated to helping inmates. Union officials have begged the administration for permission to use safety restraints in classroom and programming settings for inmates who are proven disciplinary problems. They've been ignored. 

The governor and the majorities should immediately implement the recommendations of the HALT Act Committee, developed as part of the agreement to end last year's strike. While not perfect, these recommendations would restore some of the safeguards that corrections professionals have been calling for and help address the unacceptable rise in violence inside our prisons.

I will continue fighting relentlessly against the current HALT policies on behalf of the brave men and women who serve on the front lines in jobs that are among the most grueling in existence. I am outraged that our governor and her legislative allies have unleashed such danger and chaos in our prisons and continue to ignore the catastrophic conditions they’ve created. They are complicit in this violence, and their refusal to act is putting lives at risk every single day."