A state prisoner died early Saturday at Auburn Correctional Facility within the Finger Lakes area — within the midst of the correction officers’ wildcat strike now coming into its seventh day — amid allegations he didn’t obtain medical care the earlier night time.
Jonathan Grant, 61, was discovered unresponsive in his cell early Saturday on the 200-year-old most safety jail in Auburn, N.Y., which has been working at about 58% of capability since effectively earlier than the strike, an announcement from jail officers mentioned.
A member of the Nationwide Guard, which has been deployed due to the strike, and facility medical employees and later paramedics tried to revive him, the officers mentioned.
However he couldn’t be saved. Grant was declared lifeless at 8:32 a.m., the officers mentioned. His reason for loss of life is unknown and the circumstances are beneath investigation.
Not less than 4,500 Nationwide Guardsmen have been deployed to state prisons throughout New York in response to the unsanctioned strike that started Monday. The strike began three days earlier than homicide expenses had been unsealed Thursday in opposition to six officers within the Dec. 9 deadly beating of inmate Robert Brooks at Marcy Correctional Facility.
Grant had been in jail since August 2011 on a 34-to-40-year sentence for a rape and housebreaking conviction in Brooklyn, information present.
The precise circumstances surrounding Grant’s loss of life had been unclear late Saturday, however advocates had been circulating a Fb put up by a relative of one other man held at Auburn that claimed Grant had sought medical help previous to being found unresponsive.
Grant’s loss of life drove house issues in some quarters in regards to the impact of the strike on the individuals held in jail.
“The correctional staff on strike bear responsibility for this death,” mentioned Anthony Dixon, deputy director of Parole Prep and an activist on jail points.
Dixon referred to as on the state to quickly shut prisons the place officers are on strike and transfer the inmate inhabitants to services nearer to New York Metropolis.
“This action would send a clear message: Job security is directly tied to staff commitment and operational responsibility,” he mentioned.
Negotiations between the state and the correction officers through their union are persevering with.
In an announcement earlier Saturday, state officers mentioned the putting officers had been being docked pay every day they refuse to return to work, and are dropping their healthcare protection.
They can even be introduced up on disciplinary expenses, the assertion mentioned.
Dixon additionally referred to as on the state Legislature to cross the Elder Parole invoice, which will increase possibilities for prisoners above the age of 55 to win their parole. At 61, Grant would have certified.
“The issue is not understaffing but over-incarceration. Passing the Elder Parole bill would directly relieve [the Department of Corrections and Community Supervision], particularly the urgent medical needs of elderly individuals during strikes,” he mentioned, noting one in 4 individuals in jail is above the age threshold.
The invoice has been struck within the Legislature because it was first launched in 2018.
Initially Printed: February 23, 2025 at 1:10 AM EST
