The New York Prison System’s Culture of Cruelty and Impunity
by Michael Thompson
According to Daniel F. Martuscello III, commissioner of New York state’s Department of Corrections and Community Supervision (DOCCS), “Individuals are sent to prison as punishment, not for punishment, and there is an expectation of safety and opportunities for rehabilitation.” The guards within New York’s prison system, however, have increasingly been using force, and even torture, against those in their charge.
A graph of the Use of Force incident rate provided by The New York Times shows a nearly linear rise from roughly 20 per 1,000 inmates (about 2%) during the entire year of 2016 to 129 per 1,000 during 2024. That is almost a 650% rate increase. Martuscello went on to say, “The last few months have challenged the foundation of this belief.”
New York’s problems have escalated to the point of becoming ingrained in the prison culture. And, since 75% of the prison system employees are white, while 73% of its prisoners are Black or Hispanic, much of the abuse bears racial overtones. The abuse, which includes punching, kicking, sexual assault, suffocation, and even waterboarding, has often occurred while the victims were handcuffed or otherwise restrained. Likewise, much of the abuse has ironically shifted into the infirmary where there are no cameras.
That is not the narrative the DOCCS wants told. The official stance is that the safety of both the prisoners and staff is a top priority, but the evidence does not support that. Of the roughly 9,500 misconduct allegations in the 20 years leading up to mid-October 2020, 10% or so involved allegations of prisoner abuse. The New York Times points out that in those latter cases, a vast majority of the guards were never terminated. Nevertheless, DOCCS spokesperson Thomas Mailey claimed, “Anyone engaged in misconduct will be disciplined, and, if warranted, incidents will be referred for outside prosecution.” Again, the data has not born that out. Barring another staff member’s statement, prisoner accusations are routinely disbelieved. Beyond that, they are labeled as isolated incidents or as justified.
Sergeant Matthew Liberty has a history of abuse and is named in several lawsuits. The department did actually try to terminate him in 2013, but arbitration overturned the action. Now, Liberty is named in another lawsuit after the brutal beating of Paris Perkins and his brother, Curtis. According to Paris Perkins, Liberty pulled a bag over his head until he passed out. Five of his teeth were broken as officers punched, kicked, and stomped on him in the infirmary while he was restrained. Like Paris, Curtis Perkins also had a plastic bag pulled over his head until he passed out. Then, when he awoke, they did it again.
Lieutenant Mitchell also had a history of abusing prisoners in his charge. In 2008, Mitchell settled one such prisoner’s claim for $55,000 and assaulted another prisoner. The second case was so brutal, New York’s taxpayers were billed $1.2 million. He still was not done. Two more lawsuits were filed before the state allowed him to retire. At the least, it is hard to imagine that given the size of the liability, New York’s taxpayers would be happy to continue paying his salary. After Mitchell retired, a nurse came forward and corroborated the victim’s story, which the department had previously ruled unsubstantiated. According to Mailey, that led to a referral to the U.S. attorney’s office, which declined to prosecute.
The culture of violence escalated to the point of that two prisoners, Robert Brooks and Messiah Nantwi, suffered fatal beatings in 2024 and 2025, respectively. [See: PLN, Aug. 2025, p.40; see also: PLN, Jun. 2025, p. 59]. Twenty guards were criminally charged for their deaths, but it did not need to go that far if anyone had stepped up to stop it. On December 19, state Governor Kathy Hochul (D) signed a bill (SB S8415) that introduces ten measures to strengthen oversight of the prisons, including mandating the installation of 24-hour surveillance cameras in all of areas of a facility except for cell interiors, toilets, and showers.
In a statement, State Senator Julia Salazar (D), the lawmaker who introduced the prison reform bill, applauded Governor Hochul for enacting the legislation. Salazar, however, admitted that the bill is “not the end of our struggle,” and highlighting a larger campaign for parole justice, sentencing reform, expanded pathways to safe release home, and treatment in place of incarceration. PLN will provide further analysis of New York’s prison reform bill in a future issue.
Source: The New York Times
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