Where Is Justice?

 This Isn’t Enough — And New Yorkers Deserve the Truth

As the Ranking Minority Member on the Assembly Corrections Committee, I’ve reviewed the prison package now sitting on the Governor’s desk. After reading the coverage here, I need to set the record straight — because what’s being presented to the public is simply not enough, and in some cases, flat-out misleading.

This bill does nothing to address the real crisis inside our prisons:

• chronic understaffing

• Zero recruitment efforts

• forced overtime

• escalating assaults

• unsafe conditions for officers and incarcerated individuals

• and the complete lack of meaningful reforms recommended by the state’s own corrections experts

Albany can pat itself on the back for passing another “transparency” bill, and parts of the bill are good, but transparency without action is just political theater. New Yorkers deserve genuine reform — not a headline.

I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again: if we don’t fix staffing, safety, and the day-to-day realities inside our facilities, we are not solving anything. This package ignores the root problems, and pretending otherwise does a disservice to the men and women who keep our prisons operating.

Bottom line: This isn’t reform. It’s a distraction. And I’ll keep fighting for real solutions that protect our officers, improve safety, and bring honesty back to our corrections system.

— Assemblyman David DiPietro

Ranking Minority Member, NYS Assembly Corrections Committee