One year ago on March 10, a wildcat strike led by state correction officers came to an end. More than 10,000 officers at 38 of the state's 42 prisons had participated in the strike, decrying a law governing the use of solitary confinement and demanding better working conditions and higher pay amid an ongoing staffing shortage. Chaos ensued as facilities across the state struggled to function in the absence of thousands of officers, with National Guard soldiers deployed to support the remaining workers. Seven incarcerated people died over the course of the 22-day strike—about the typical rate for New York's prison system—including Messiah Nantwi, who was beaten to death by correction officers who had remained on the job.
The Department of Corrections and Community Supervision ultimately struck a deal with the officers' union that included, among other concessions, a temporary suspension of the HALT Act, a state law limiting the use of solitary confinement; the creation of a committee to recommend changes to the solitary confinement law; the introduction of new scanners to detect contraband in mail; an agreement not to punish any officer who returned to work by last March 10; and a referral bonus for any officer who recruits new hires. The agency also introduced new body scanners, which have repeatedly misidentified things like menstrual products and surgical scars as potential contraband, causing prison visitors to be turned away.