In-Prison Deaths Reach Record High in 2026, According to Correctional Association of New York Prison Transparency Dashboard
May 16, 2026
Contact: media@correctionalassociation.org
Proposed Budget Cuts to Independent Oversight Threaten Accountability Amid Deadliest Start to Year in Recent History
Brooklyn, NY – The Correctional Association of New York (CANY) today announced an update to its prison transparency dashboard with the latest available information on deaths in state custody in 2026. The updated dashboard includes data on the incarcerated population and deaths in prisons through April 30, 2026, offering the public and policymakers real-time trends in mortalities within state correctional facilities. The dashboard update comes as state leaders negotiate a budget that threatens to cut funding for independent oversight.
Key Findings Include:
Number of Mortalities Reaches Six-Year High: Year-to-date, 2026 has seen the most in-custody deaths of any year since at least 2020, including during the COVID-19 pandemic. According to data CANY received from the State Commission on Correction (SCOC), 57 incarcerated individuals died in New York’s prisons between January 1 and April 30, 2026.
Spike in Deaths at Green Haven: Compared to the previous 12-month period (May 2024 to April 2025 vs. May 2025 to April 2026), deaths at Green Haven Correctional Facility sky-rocketed by 171%, rising from seven to 19 deaths.
Suicides at Bedford Hills: At Bedford Hills, the number of deaths has tripled compared to the first four months of 2025, rising from one to three deaths. Two of these deaths were suicides. The most recently recorded suicide at Bedford Hills prior to these incidents was in 2024.
Homicides in Specialized Units: Three homicides of incarcerated individuals by other incarcerated individuals occurred in a single week in April 2026. All three of these homicides took place in prisons in the North Country. Two of these homicides took place in Residential Rehabilitation Units (RRUs)—units established by the HALT Solitary Confinement Act intended to provide therapeutic programming. In both instances, the victims were allegedly killed by their cellmates.
"At a moment when the state’s prison system is facing a verifiable mortality crisis—in addition to a staffing crisis—any reduction in funding for independent oversight literally puts lives at risk,” said Jennifer Scaife, Executive Director of CANY. “Disinvesting in CANY would undermine transparency and threaten further deterioration of living and working conditions in New York State prisons."
View CANY’s updated dashboards on deaths in custody at:
About CANY
CANY, under §146 of New York’s Correction Law, is charged with visiting and examining the state's correctional facilities to identify and report on prison conditions, the treatment of incarcerated individuals, and the administration of policy promulgated by the executive and legislature. Founded in 1844 by concerned citizens of the state and deputized by the state to provide monitoring and oversight of the state’s prisons in 1846, CANY is one of the first organizations in the country prescribed to administer civilian oversight of prisons.
