Rolison wants formal investigation into sickness inside state prisons

State Senator Rob Rolison (R, Poughkeepsie), the ranking member of the Senate Crime Victims, Crime, and Corrections Committee, wants to know what is making people sick inside state prisons.

Several corrections officers, staffers, inmates and National Guardsmen stationed at Woodbourne Correctional Facility in Sullivan County became ill last weekend with some requiring treatment at local hospitals.

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Rolison and his Republican colleagues have corresponded with the State Commission of Correction urging a formal investigation “into the prevalence and impact of exposure incidents” inside state prisons.

Their letter calls for comprehensive data collection on those incidents and any analysis of the substance found that may be directly related to those exposure incidents.

In the meantime, Rolison has amended his fentanyl exposure bill to strengthen protections. The bill, which establishes the offense of aggravated reckless endangerment for individuals who knowingly possess fentanyl or fentanyl derivatives and recklessly expose first responders or correction officers, now includes civilian employees of correctional facilities along with military personnel as protected individuals, including active military personnel who are serving in correctional facilities.