The Correctional Association of New York expresses alarm and concern regarding the death by suicide of Imam Abdallah Hadian at Marcy Correctional Facility on Friday, November 7. We extend our deepest condolences to Imam Hadian’s family, his adherents, and to the staff and incarcerated individuals at Marcy who have been affected by this horrific incident. 

Imam Hadian’s death calls further attention to the crises plaguing New York State’s prison system, as evidenced by: 

• The murders of incarcerated individuals, Robert Brooks and Messiah Nantwi, by prison staff at Marcy and Mid-State Correctional Facilities. 

• An illegal work stoppage by correctional officers and sergeants, compromising safety for remaining staff and incarcerated individuals. 

• A 34% year-over-year increase in the number of in-custody deaths between 2023 and 2024, including a 108% increase in the number of suicides among incarcerated individuals. 

• Increased contraband in facilities, with 5,136 reported instances of contraband found in 2024, including contraband drugs causing medical emergencies among incarcerated people and staff. 

• An acute increase in the vacancy rates among staff, rising from 13.3% in January 2024 to 27.4% in April 2025. 

CANY urges Governor Kathy Hochul to act decisively and without delay to alleviate the deteriorating living and working conditions in New York's state prisons by signing the Prison Omnibus Reform Bill and closing up to three prisons, including Marcy Correctional Facility, as authorized in the State Budget. We also call on lawmakers to comprehensively address the crises in the state’s prisons to improve safety and wellbeing for staff and incarcerated individuals in the coming legislative session. 

Correctional Association of New York Releases Monitoring Findings at Two State Prisons

Reports on Gouverneur and Cayuga Correctional Facilities Find Significant Strengths and Troubling Weaknesses at Each Prison

Brooklyn, NY — The Correctional Association of New York (CANY) has released two new Post Visit Briefing reports detailing findings from monitoring visits to Gouverneur Correctional Facility and Cayuga Correctional Facility. The reports on Gouverneur and Cayuga highlight both positive and negative findings at two similarly sized, medium-security correctional facilities.

New Analysis Details Two-Year Review of New York's Solitary Confinement Law

BROOKLYN, NY – The Correctional Association of New York (CANY) has released its second report on the implementation of the Humane Alternatives to Long-Term (HALT) Solitary Confinement Act. The new report, Two Years of HALT: Use of Segregated Confinement, Implementation of Core Requirements, and Perceptions Across the System, covering the period from January 2023 to July 2024, documents ongoing issues with implementation of the law and highlights the critical function of independent oversight in documenting stakeholders’ experiences living and working with HALT. 

Brooklyn, NY - Today the Correctional Association of New York (CANY) updated its data transparency dashboard, displaying a significant increase in staff vacancies within the New York State Department of Corrections and Community Supervision (DOCCS) following an unlawful correctional officers' strike in early 2025. 

The updated data, reflecting staffing levels as of April 2025, shows that the systemwide staff vacancy rate more than doubled in just over a year, rising from 13.3% at the beginning of 2024 to 27.4% as of April 2025. The increase was largely driven by a sharp rise in vacant security staff positions. To address its workforce shortage, DOCCS has launched a new recruitment initiative. Since the strike, the Department of Corrections and Community Supervision (DOCCS) reports that correction officer exam participation has risen by 160% and hiring by 62%. Additionally, more than 740 terminated employees have been reinstated.  

New York, NY – The Correctional Association of New York (CANY) today released a new dashboard containing data obtained by Freedom of Information Law request from the New York State Office of Mental Health (OMH). The dashboard presents monthly facility caseload and program census reports, providing transparency into the number of people receiving mental health treatment in each correctional facility, and highlighting enrollment in programs offered by OMH in facilities operated by the Department of Corrections and Community Supervision (DOCCS). Additionally, the dashboard contains information on self-harm incidents, suicide attempts, and deaths by suicide.

Correctional Association of New York Releases New Report on Shawangunk Correctional Facility Access to Healthcare, Officer and Medical Staffing Shortages Among Top Concerns

Brooklyn, NY - The Correctional Association of New York (CANY) has released a Post Visit Briefing report on Washington Correctional Facility, a medium-security prison for men located in Washington County, NY. The report details findings from interviews with incarcerated individuals, analysis of administrative data, meetings with staff, and observations made by CANY during a monitoring visit in March 2024. Washington Correctional Facility is co-located with Great Meadow Correctional Facility, which closed in 2024.

Brooklyn, NY - The Correctional Association of New York (CANY) has released a Post Visit Briefing report on Wallkill Correctional Facility, a medium-security prison for men located in Ulster County, NY. Opened in 1933, Wallkill is the oldest continuously operating medium-security prison in New York. The report details findings from interviews with incarcerated individuals, analysis of administrative data, meetings with staff, and observations made by CANY during a monitoring visit in February 2024.  

New York, NY – In observance of Sunshine Week, a national initiative dedicated to the principles of open government and public access to information, the Correctional Association of New York (CANY) today announced an update to its public dashboard of New York State prison data, providing the latest available information on key indicators including the incarcerated population and deaths in custody. The updated dashboard includes data on the incarcerated population and deaths in prisons through March 1, 2025. 

New Public Dashboard Tracks Workers’ Compensation Claims, Promoting Transparency & Accountability

BROOKLYN, NY – The Correctional Association of New York (CANY) today released CANY’s Recommendations to Improve Safety, Institutional Culture, and Living & Working Conditions within DOCCS Facilities. These recommendations, based on extensive on-the-ground monitoring, interviews with incarcerated individuals and staff, and data analysis, provides a critical assessment of the challenges facing New York's prisons and offers concrete solutions to address persistent challenges and opportunities for improvement within New York State prisons.

BROOKLYN, NY – Today, the Correctional Association of New York (CANY) released a new report on the implementation of a program for the use of Medication for Opioid Use Disorder (MOUD), also known as the Medication Assisted Treatment (MAT) for incarcerated people in New York prisons.