Former Federal Prosecutor Says Albany’s $1 Billion
Band-Aid Has Failed; Three More Inmates Dead
New York-Crime-fighting New York State Attorney General candidate Saritha Komatireddy, who will professionalize and depoliticize New York State’s top law enforcement office if elected in November, today called for reform of the Humane Alternatives to Long-Term Solitary Confinement (HALT) Act, standing with rank-and-file corrections officers punished for whistle-blowing the truth about HALT: It puts New York prisoners and staff in danger.
“Crime in our state prisons is out of control, and it’s because of the HALT Act, which puts both inmates and staff at risk,” said Ms. Komatireddy, a former federal prosecutor and chief of staff of the U.S. Drug Enforcement Agency. “When corrections officers spoke out and went on strike to bring attention to this public safety issue, Governor Hochul and AG James fired and sued them — then spent over $1 billion on a temporary fix instead of a real solution. We need to give corrections officers the tools they need to restore order and keep everyone safe.”
The HALT Act, signed into law in 2021 and made effective in March 2022, limits disciplinary options available to corrections staff.
In 2025, more than 10,000 corrections officers went on strike, at all but one of the state’s 42 prisons, citing unsafe working conditions due to restrictions imposed by HALT. Governor Hochul fired approximately 2,000 of them. Attorney General James went after them in court.
Officers were replaced by National Guardsman which cost taxpayers approximately $700 million through March 2026. Another $535 million is in Ms. Hochul’s current budget plan. More than 3,000 Guard members remain stationed in state prisons today.
“Putting National Guardsmen in the prisons doesn’t solve the problem and commits the state to endless spending,” Komatireddy said. “The Governor used $1 billion on this temporary fix. We could have used that $1 billion to hire more officers, build prison space, and increase prison safety.
There were three suspected inmate homicides at North Country correctional facilities last week — at Upstate Correctional in Malone, Gouverneur Correctional, and Riverview Correctional in Ogdensburg.
On April 17, the New York State Correctional Officers & Police Benevolent Association sent a letter to Governor Hochul to draw attention to these homicides, the 44 incarcerated deaths year-to-date as of April 1, and the contraband that is “driving disorder, medical emergencies, violence, and fear across the entire system.” The Association wrote: “This is not normal. These are not routine disciplinary issues. They are unmistakable warning signs of a correctional system under extreme pressure—one that is becoming increasingly unstable and dangerous for everyone who lives and works behind the walls.” The Association asked for the immediate adoption of the recommendations issued by the Statewide HALT Committee to amend the Humane Alternatives to Long-Term Solitary Confinement (HALT) Act.
“Every New Yorker deserves to be safe, at home, in their communities, and at work. But because of the HALT Act, and Hochul and James, the people who live and work in prisons are not,” Komatireddy said, “As Attorney General, I will look out for the safety of all New Yorkers.”
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