BILL NUMBER: S7865
SPONSOR: SALAZAR
 
TITLE OF BILL:
An act to amend the public health law, the education law and the labor
law, in relation to prohibiting participation in torture of incarcerated
individuals by health professionals
 
PURPOSE OR GENERAL IDEA OF BILL:
To bar health professionals from participating in torture of incarcerat-
ed persons or from being complicit in such conduct, to provide a means
by which health professionals responsible for the care of incarcerated
persons or detainees can refuse an order to directly or indirectly
participate in torture, to provide for accountability and transparency
regarding instances of torture, and to insist health professionals
provide professionally responsible care and treatment.
 
SUMMARY OF SPECIFIC PROVISIONS:
Section one enacts the title of the bill, which is the "end health
professionals' complicity in the torture of detained or incarcerated
individuals act of 2025".
Section two states the legislature's intent to ensure health profes-
sionals fulfill their professional, legal, and human rights obligations
to prevent torture of people who are detained or incarcerated and to
promote the health and safety of people who are detained or incarcerat-
ed. The purpose is, further, to give effect to accepted standards of
federal, state, and local law and international standards relating to
torture.
Section three adds a new section 25 to the public health law, titled,
"Participation in torture of detained or incarcerated individuals".
Subdivision 1 defines "health professional", "torture", "covered facili-
ty", "incarcerated individual", "adversely affect", "interrogation", and
"conflict of interest."
Subdivision two requires health professionals to use due diligence in
fulfilling their responsibilities under this law.
Subdivision three establishes general obligations of health profes-
sionals in relation to the treatment of incarcerated persons and
detained persons, consistent with generally applicable legal, health and
professional standards, including protection of confidential patient
information and discontinuing medical encounters when a conflict of
interest exists.
Subdivision four prohibits health professionals from knowingly, reck-
lessly, or negligently, directly or indirectly, actions which constitute
torture of an incarcerated individual, including participation in,
complicity in, cover-up of, or attempt or conspiracy to commit torture.
This subdivision further prohibits participation by health professionals
in interrogations of incarcerated individuals, with certain exceptions.
Subdivision five clarifies that certain conduct by health professionals
is permitted, such as providing proper treatment as reasonably able
under the circumstances. The purpose must be to evaluate, treat,
protect, or improve the physical or mental health or condition of an
incarcerated person. They may restrain or sedate an incarcerated person,
where such actions comply with applicable standards, are necessary to
protect health or safety, and do not harm the incarcerated person.
Health professionals may appropriately participate in the investigation,
prosecution or defense in criminal, administrative, civil matters,
including presence during the interrogation of a minor upon request.
Subdivision six establishes a duty to report, consistent with protecting
the safety of both the incarcerated person and the health professional.
Subdivision seven establishes a prohibition on retaliation for compli-
ance with an investigation of, or reporting, alleged torture of incar-
cerated persons.
Subdivision eight mandates confidentiality for all reports and limits
disclosure except where necessary to ensure safety or conduct investi-
gations.
Subdivision nine requires facilities to conduct prompt and thorough
investigations of reported violations, ensure confidentiality and
protection against retaliation, and report outcomes to the NYS Office of
the Inspector General. It also requires regular public reporting of
incidents and outcomes.
Subdivision ten outlines the responsibilities of the NYS Office of the
Inspector General, including accepting confidential and anonymous
complaints, determining when to notify facilities, investigating compli-
ance with this law, and publishing cumulative reports on the number and
nature of allegations received and investigated.
Subdivision eleven requires the NYS Office of the Inspector General to
monitor compliance, allowing direct access to all facility areas,
records, and individuals for the purpose of ensuring adherence to this
section.
Subdivision twelve requires the NYS Office of the Inspector General to
issue annual public reports to the governor and legislature describing
statewide compliance, trends, and recommendations, and mandates written
responses from covered facilities and agencies.
Subdivision thirteen mandates three hours of initial training and annual
refresher training for all facility employees and affiliated individuals
on the obligations and protections established by this law.
Subdivision fourteen requires all covered facilities and associated
agencies to adopt rules and procedures to enforce this law, ensure
privacy and confidentiality, and disseminate clear information to incar-
cerated individuals about their rights and reporting mechanisms.
Subdivision fifteen provides that compliance with reporting or cooper-
ation with investigations may be considered mitigating factors in
violations of this act.
Subdivision sixteen clarifies that the law does not expand the lawful
scope of practice of any health professional.
Sections four and five add violations of the new § 25 of the Public
Health Law to the definition of professional misconduct in Education Law
§§ 6509 (health professionals other than physicians or physician assist-
ants) and 6530 (physicians and physician assistants).
Sections six, seven, eight, and nine provide that conduct required under
the new § 25 of the Public Health Law is added to the existing whistle
blower protection for employees and contractors contained in Labor Law
§§ s 740 and 741.
Section ten clarifies that the enactment of this law shall not be
construed to mean that the actions it prohibits are not already or
otherwise, unlawful, nor that conduct not covered by the bill does not
violate other laws.
Section eleven is a severability clause. Section twelve states the
effective date.
 
JUSTIFICATION:
There is strong evidence that U.S. health professionals have been
directly engaged in or complicit in torture and other cruel, inhuman or
degrading treatment of incarcerated persons and detainees. This problem
is not limited to a few errant individuals but reflects a systemic fail-
ure, exacerbated by official policies and practices that disincentivize
intervention or reporting. Frequently, involvement is indirect-health
professionals treat the physical consequences of abuse while ignoring or
failing to report its cause. But complicity can also be more direct,
such as when professionals attend to victims only to enable continued
abuse, remain silent while abuse occurs within their presence, fail to
report such conduct, or even advise on strategies or techniques for a
torture session.
Torture of incarcerated individuals is a violation of existing state and
federal law as well as a violation of medical ethics and doctrines of
international human rights law.
The urgency of addressing the complicity of health professionals in
torture in NYS facilities is underscored by recent incidents in New York
correctional facilities. In December 2024, correction officers tortured
and beat Robert Brooks to death inside a private exam room in the infir-
mary at Marcy Correctional Facility while nurses remained nearby in the
hallway, in locations where they could see and hear what was happening
inside the exam room. The health professionals did not intervene to stop
the torture of Mr. Brooks. In March 2025, Messiah Nantwi was tortured
and beaten to death at Mid-State prison in a similarly brutal assault.
Both killings began outside the medical setting but escalated inside
infirmaries that lacked surveillance cameras.
The Marshall Project, in an investigative report published in April 2025
(https://www.themarshallproject.org/2025/04/30/new-york-prisons-abuse-inf
irmaries)identified 46 credible allegations of correctional officer
assaults occurring in prison infirmaries across New York since 2010,
which the Marshall Project notes is likely an undercount of such inci-
dents. These assaults have resulted in severe injuries, including
collapsed lungs, broken bones, and, in at least three cases, death.
These medical units, meant to be spaces of care, are frequently
described by incarcerated individuals as "torture chambers" or "slaught-
erhouses" due to the routine nature of the abuse that occurs within
them. Yet medical staff often fail to intervene or are removed from the
room entirely during these assaults. Health professionals have an
ethical obligation not only to provide care but to prevent harm. Silence
in the face of violence, or the mere continuation of treatment without
acknowledgment of abuse, violates these obligations.
Widely accepted principles of medical ethics-such as the Declaration of
Tokyo, the UN Principles of Medical Ethics, and guidance from the Ameri-
can Medical Association-make clear that participation in or tolerance of
torture or degrading treatment is a serious ethical violation. Yet in
many facilities, these standards are not meaningfully enforced. In some
cases, medical staff are expected to turn a blind eye, treating the
injured without documenting or reporting the origin of those injuries.
A professional licensed by the State of New York who comes to the aid of
an incarcerated person, detainee, victim of torture etc., under the
general obligations of health professionals should not be presumed to be
in violation when she or he is fulfilling the ethical mandate to do no
harm. In contrast, a professional who, for example, attends to an incar-
cerated person, detainee, victim of torture, etc. to allow torture or
improper treatment to commence or continue, or fails to report it, is
not acting in accordance with such ethical mandates. Such practices are
inconsistent with ethics and standards in the health profession and are
violations of this legislation.
By codifying these standards into state law, New York will take a firm
stance against institutionalized and systemic torture and abuse of
incarcerated individuals in New York and will also provide support to
health professionals in fulfilling their core duties. Such action not
only protects the rights of incarcerated individuals, but also the
integrity of the medical professions and the broader public trust in
institutions of care.
 
SOCIAL, RACIAL, AND GENDER JUSTICE IMPACT:
The systemic violence by staff against incarcerated individuals in New
York State has been documented for many years and came into sharper
focus with the documented and widely condemned torture and murder of two
young Black men, Robert Brooks in December 2024 and Messiah Nantwi in
March 2025. As documented in numerous court cases and law enforcement
investigations, the torture of incarcerated individuals in New York is
disproportionately directed towards people of color. There are also
numerous documented cases of incarcerated individuals, disproportionate-
ly women, being sexually assaulted by staff in New York jails and pris-
ons, including in medical units or infirmaries. New York State must
take bold and clear action to end this systemic use of torture in New
York facilities. By passing this legislation, New York will demonstrate
a commitment to real and transformative changes in regard to how prisons
and jails function. This will have a profound impact on increasing
social, racial, and gender justice in New York State.
 
PRIOR LEGISLATIVE HISTORY:
This bill has been revised from the versions filed in previous years.
The history of the similar bills from past legislative sessions is as
follows:
SENATE:
2024: S3228-A (Hoylman-Sigal) - Referred to Health
2023: S3228-A (Hoylman-Sigal) - Referred to Health
2022: S794-A (Hoylman) - Referred to Health
2021: S794-A (Hoylman) - Referred to Health
2020: S596 (Hoylman) - Referred to Health
2019: S596 (Hoylman) - Referred to Health
2018: S112 (Hoylman) - Referred to Health
2017: S112 (Hoylman) - Referred to Health
2016: S105 (Hoylman) - Referred to Health
2015: S105 (Hoylman) - Referred to Health
2014: S2397 (Hoylman) - Referred to Health
2013: S2397 (Hoylman) - Referred to Health
2012: S6795 (Duane) - Referred to Health
ASSEMBLY:
2024: A4863-A (Kelles) - Referred to Higher Education
2023: A4863-A (Kelles) - Referred to Higher Education
2022: A306-A (Gottfried) - Ordered to Third Reading
2021: A306-A (Gottfried) - Referred to Higher Education; Reported,
Referred to Codes; Advanced to Third Reading
2020: A1192 (Gottfried) - Ordered to Third Reading
2019: A1192 (Gottfried) - Referred to Higher Education; Reported,
Referred to Codes; Advanced to Third Reading
2018: A3079 (Gottfried) - Ordered to Third Reading
2017: A3079 (Gottfried) - Referred to Higher Education; Reported,
Referred to Codes; Advanced to Third Reading
2016: A4489 (Gottfried) - Referred to Higher Education; Reported,
Referred to Codes; Reported, Advanced to Third Reading
2015: A4489 (Gottfried) - Referred to Higher Education; Reported,
Referred to Codes; Reported, Referred to Rules
2014: A4440 (Gottfried) - Referred to Higher Education; Reported,
Referred to Codes; Reported, Referred to Rules
2013: A4440 (Gottfried) - Referred to Higher Education; Reported,
Referred to Codes; Reported, Referred to Rules; Advanced to Third Read-
ing
2012: A5891-A (Gottfried) - Referred to Higher Education; Reported,
Referred to Codes; Reported, Referred to Rules
2011: A5891-A (Gottfried) - Referred to Higher Education; Reported,
Referred to Codes; Reported, Referred to Rules
 
FISCAL IMPLICATIONS:
None to the state.
 
EFFECTIVE DATE:
January 1 after the date that it shall have become law.

Statutes affected:
S7865: 6509 education law, 6530 education law, 740 labor law, 740(3) labor law, 741 labor law, 741(3) labor law