(Refiles to add Governor Hochul’s first name in paragraph 2)
By Brad Brooks
(Reuters) – New York’s governor on Monday ordered prison reforms and began the process of firing corrections officers who earlier this month beat a restrained Black inmate who died a few hours later.
Kathy Hochul’s office said in a written statement that she visited the Marcy Correctional Facility in central New York, where inmate Robert Brooks’ beating was captured on body worn cameras.
Video of the violence was released last week by the state’s attorney general, who is investigating Brooks’ death. Hochul met with some inmates at the facility.
“Today, as I stood in the room where Robert Brooks was killed, I was once again heartbroken by this unnecessary loss of life and further sickened to think of the actions of depraved individuals with no regard for human life,” Governor Hochul said in a statement.
Hochul added: “The system failed Mr. Brooks and I will not be satisfied until there has been significant culture change.”