Source: Albany Times Union/Hearst Newspapers / Getty
A week ago, BOSSIP reported on the death of Robert Brooks, an inmate at Marcy Correctional Facility in New York. Brooks was beaten to death by a bevy of guards within hours of his arrival at the prison. The body camera footage that Attorney General Letitia James’ office released sparked outrage within Brooks’ family and the community at large. Today, we have more details about the history of violence against inmates at MCF over the years.
According to reporting by Truthout, MCF has been suspected of violations for several years following a Correctional Association of New York visit in October 2022. It was then that 80% of the prisoners interviewed reported “verbal, physical, or sexual abuse,” and nearly 70% reported racist practices like not allowing Black men to have food if they wore braids or cornrows. These findings were sent up the flagpole to the Inspector General, the state’s corrections officials, and the attorney general’s office. This was years before Brooks’ was killed, and it is unclear what, if anything, was done about it. Says CANY executive director Jennifer Scaife, “I think certainly officials have been aware of allegations for quite some time.”
Perhaps if these issues were treated as a priority, then Robert Brooks would be alive today.
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WHEC reports that AG James has filed paperwork to recuse her office from this case and will no longer be defending the correctional officers accused of killing Brooks. Let her tell it, there is a “conflict of interest” at play.
“As part of our Office of Special Investigation cases, we do internal conflicts checks. After obtaining video and identifying the officers involved in the incident, we conducted this standard check. Four of the correction officers under investigation in the Robert Brooks matter are currently defendants in other matters and are being represented by lawyers in the Office of the Attorney General,” said James.
It feels like there is another shoe to drop in this case and we will be watching for any new information that is released going forward.
