An inmate has passed away at Auburn Correctional Facility, a development casting further light on the ongoing wildcat strike by correction officers that's gripped more than 20 New York State prisons, including Auburn. The deceased, Jonathan Grant, was a 61-year-old man pronounced dead at approximately 8:32 a.m. last Saturday. Auburn Correctional Facility staff, alongside a member of the National Guard, attempted life-saving measures including CPR and the administration of Narcan, but were unable to revive him, according to WNYT. Grant had been serving a 34-to-40-year sentence for a rape and burglary conviction in Brooklyn.
The ongoing strike, which has extended to a seventh day, sees prisons operating with a reduced capacity of staff, as correction officers have walked out in response to charges against fellow officers related to the fatal beating of an inmate Robert Brooks. The New York State Department of Corrections and Community Supervision (DOCCS) is investigating the cause of Grant's death, which is the standard protocol for all inmate deaths, as detailed by the New York Daily News. Amid this tumult, advocates have expressed concern for the welfare of inmates, with Anthony Dixon, deputy director of Parole Prep and a prison issues activist, specifically pointing to the strike as bearing a share of responsibility for Grant's death.
Dixon has proposed that the state should consider temporarily closing strike-impacted prisons and relocating the inmates to facilities nearer to New York City, a move he believes would underscore the linkage of job security to staff commitment and operation responsibility. Moreover, he's encouraged the New York Legislature to pass the Elder Parole bill, which would potentially have affected Grant, being above the age of 55 and thus eligible for increased chances at parole. “The issue is not understaffing but overincarceration. Passing the Elder Parole bill would directly relieve [the state Department of Corrections and Community Supervision], particularly the urgent medical needs of elderly individuals during strikes,” Dixon told New York Daily News.
Negotiations between the state and correction officers are ongoing, as the ramifications of the wildcat strike continue to unfold. State officials have taken action against striking officers, docking their pay and healthcare coverage. Additional consequences include impending disciplinary charges. The full details surrounding Grant's passing remain pending.
