Correctional Association of New York (CANY) Statement in Response to Death of Incarcerated Individual at Mid-State Correctional Facility
CONTACT: media@correctionalassociation.org
Tuesday, March 4, 2025
BROOKLYN, NY – The following statement can be attributed to Jennifer Scaife, Executive Director of the Correctional Association of New York (CANY):
The death of 22-year-old Messiah Nantwi following a reported use of force incident at Mid-State, the seventh death of an incarcerated individual to occur during the unauthorized strike by correctional officers, underscores the need for a complete overhaul and fundamental rethinking of the state’s prison system. The Governor and the Legislature must take immediate action to strengthen independent oversight, hold employees accountable for misconduct, and reduce the size of the incarcerated population through all available mechanisms.
On January 27, 2025, the Correctional Association of New York (CANY) documented serious concerns about operational failures at Mid-State Correctional Facility and subsequently reported these concerns to the Department of Corrections and Community Supervision (DOCCS). These concerns included:
Overall deterioration of conditions since CANY’s previous monitoring visit to Mid-State in October 2022.
A capital project to install 1,500 to 1,700 fixed surveillance cameras throughout the facility had not advanced in the time since CANY’s previous monitoring visit in October 2022.
The superintendent reported that nearly 300 body-worn cameras had been in use since May 2024, but that some were broken, and others were not remaining charged for the duration of a shift.
Incarcerated individuals reported that few programs had been offered since mid- to late December, when news of the killing of Robert Brooks first broke. Individuals were concerned that they would be denied parole for not having completed mandatory programs because the facility was failing to offer them.
Incarcerated individuals described a general lack of accountability throughout the facility, resulting in fundamental breakdowns in trust and the functioning of essential services, including medical care.
Several individuals recounted specific incidents of violence and abuse by correctional officers at the facility and many expressed fears of retaliation for speaking with CANY representatives.
Mid-State houses a large population of individuals with complex needs which the facility seemed not well-equipped to manage:
Of the 1,246 individuals in custody on January 27, more than half (679) received mental health services from the Office of Mental Health and 128 were on psychiatric medications.
The facility operates a 12-bed Residential Crisis Treatment Program for individuals in psychiatric crisis and a 58-bed Intermediate Care Program for individuals with serious mental illness who cannot be housed in general population units.
The facility houses the state’s largest population of individuals convicted of sex offenses, according to the superintendent.
Four different disciplinary units – two Special Housing Units, one Residential Rehabilitation Unit, and a Step-Down Program – are operated by the facility. Numerous complaints and allegations of physical assault by staff emerge from these units.
The superintendent reported that staff vacancies and absences were driving large amounts of overtime worked at the facility, including correctional officers being mandated to work 24-hour shifts.
According to the superintendent, four deaths had recently affected the facility: two unanticipated deaths of staff members while off duty, one suspected suicide by an incarcerated individual, and one suspected overdose by an incarcerated individual.
According to data CANY has obtained about deaths in DOCCS’ facilities, there has been an increase in the number of deaths in custody in the past year: 143 deaths were reported in 2024 compared to 107 reported in 2023, a 34% year over year increase and the highest number of in- custody deaths in the past five years. There has also been an increase in the proportion of deaths in custody of incarcerated individuals under the age of 40: 30% (43 incarcerated individuals) of deaths in custody in 2024 were among individuals under the age of 40, compared to 17% (18 incarcerated individuals) in 2023, an increase of 139%.
The latest available information on key indicators, including the incarcerated population, unusual incidents, and deaths in custody, is available on CANY’s dashboard, https://www.correctionalassociation.org/data.
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About the Correctional Association of New York
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.