Legal Aid Society, Brooklyn Defender Services and Milbank LLP Hail Court Order Requiring NYC Department of Correction to Pay Roughly $200,000 in Fines to New Yorkers Who Were Denied Access to Medical Treatment in City Jails
(NEW YORK, NY) - The Legal Aid Society, Brooklyn Defender Services and Milbank LLP hailed a New York State Supreme Court decision which orders the New York City Department of Correction (DOC) to pay fines to New Yorkers who were denied access to medical treatment in local jails. This decision follows a May 2022 order which found DOC in contempt for failing to follow a Bronx Supreme Court order issued in Agnew v. New York City Department of Correction requiring access to basic medical services for incarcerated New Yorkers.
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The Legal Aid Society, Brooklyn Defender Services, and Milbank LLP released the follow statement:
“The Department of Correction has continuously and egregiously failed to fulfill its lawful and moral obligation to provide access to needed medical appointments for people incarcerated in New York City jails—a failure that has led to undue suffering and death. Today’s court order is one critical step towards holding the City accountable for its unwillingness to ensure the health and safety of people incarcerated in its jails. We hope this ordered compensation provides some relief to people denied the care they desperately need, but we know that much more must be done. New York City jails have killed eleven people this year, and we fear that without decarceration, this number will sadly only grow. We reaffirm our calls to urge the courts, prosecutors, and elected officials to use every tool to remove people from the dangerous and deadly conditions of these jails.”
View the full press release here.
