COXSACKIE (AP) – A wildcat strike by guards at New York’s prisons in the United States (US), now in its second week, is fueling fears over deteriorating conditions behind bars.
A 61-year-old inmate died over the weekend at one of the prisons where National Guard troops were deployed to replace corrections officers who walked off the job. Jonathon Grant, who was serving a 34-to-40-year sentence for rape and burglary, was pronounced dead after being found unresponsive in his cell at the Auburn Correctional Facility, state officials said.
It wasn’t clear if the prison’s staffing situation was a factor in Grant’s death. State officials didn’t immediately release information about his health history. A medical examiner will determine the cause of death, state prison system spokesperson Thomas Mailey said. The public defender’s office that provided legal counsel to Grant expressed concern that the walkout by guards had disrupted inmate medical care.
“Since the strike began, Legal Aid has received dozens of reports from incarcerated clients across New York State about their inability to access critical medical care and essential prescriptions, including blood pressure medication and necessary insulin shots,” said The Legal Aid Society. “This tragic incident highlights the dangers posed by the ongoing strike, as staff in over 40 prisons refuse to fulfill their duties.” Guards at state prisons began walking out a week ago in a job action that was not approved by union officials, who acknowledge that it violates a state law barring strikes by most public employees.
New York Governor Kathy Hochul, a Democrat, deployed National Guard troops to prisons to maintain order. A judge ordered the striking officers back to work last week, but the workers didn’t budge.
Isaiah Waters, an inmate at Woodbourne Correctional Facility, said in a phone interview that his cell block has been on lockdown for a week, with four National Guard officers assigned to his 57-person dorm, along with members of a correctional emergency response unit.
