Retiring NYC Board of Corrections Director Summons DOC Commissioner Molina for ‘Destructive’ Remarks

Board of Corrections Executive Director Amanda Masters called out DOC Commissioner Luis Molina in her resignation letter for “inaccurate” and “destructive” remarks about the 70-year-old prison watchdog agency.

On Monday, Masters sent a letter announcing her decision to retire next month. The letter was received by the Daily News on a freedom of information request.

“As you all know, the Commissioner of the Department of Corrections made several disparaging remarks about our agency over the course of several weeks that were inaccurate and damaging,” Masters wrote.

“His message reached the DOC staff and was repeated, undermining the respect for our prison staff from their DOC colleagues.”

DOC Commissioner Louis Molina

Masters stated that Molina “also acted to limit and hinder employees’ access to the information necessary to carry out their jobs effectively and to discuss and illustrate their findings among themselves, with me, and with board members.”

On January 11, Molina cut off the board’s remote access to prison surveillance video, as well as access to handheld and bodycam footage.

In a letter to the board of directors after new board chairman Duane Sampson sent two letters complaining about video restrictions, Molina said the board had “an agenda to paint the Department of Corrections in a negative light.”

But Masters said in her letter on Monday that she hoped the department would lift the video ban soon.

“This period was very unfortunate,” she wrote.

“Surveillance – here understanding from experienced civilian staff in prison – is a necessary part of both good government and maintaining any sustained trust on the part of the governed,” she added. “Last year I worked to strengthen our oversight because a strong BOC is needed.”

Masters urged the board to continue to support employees who regularly visit prisons. She noted that the agency produced three reports on deaths in prisons last year, and a fourth report is in the works, along with reports on women in prisons and a serious injury reporting system.

She also opposed a new Sampson board resolution to reduce the number of meetings per year from nine to six. “Using the ‘upcoming public meeting agenda’ as an effective way to bring about change between meetings. It saves lives,” she wrote.

The decision to reduce the number of meetings was supposed to be made on Tuesday, but unexpected problems with the audio of the remote meeting forced the meeting to be postponed. The board also said that only six members of the public would be allowed to speak, a new rule that quickly drew criticism from advocates.

And the board should have considered the DOC’s request to move away from paper mail in favor of digitized letters and require packages to be sent only from third-party providers. This discussion was also delayed due to the failure of the video.

As some of her successes, Masters cited the board’s support for having the DOC remove cages in high-security buildings, increasing the distribution of drug by officers, and creating “de-escalation zones to reduce abuse and neglect following violent incidents.”

“Thank you for giving me the honor to serve,” Masters wrote in closing.

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