• As an illegal strike across dozens of New York prisons enters its second week, officials announced a 61-year-old inmate at one of the impacted facilities died over the weekend. The death occurred at Auburn Correctional Facility, one of the prisons where U.S. National Guard troops are deployed, replacing corrections officers who walked off of the job in an unauthorized strike.
• The inmate, identified as Jonathan Grant, was serving a 34-to-40-year sentence for rape and burglary.
• Officials said they found Grant dead in his cell on Saturday and began unsuccessful lifesaving measures.

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As an illegal strike across dozens of New York prisons enters its second week, officials announced a 61-year-old inmate at one of the impacted facilities died over the weekend. The death occurred at Auburn Correctional Facility, where U.S. National Guard troops are deployed.

The troops replaced corrections officers who walked off of the job in an unauthorized strike.

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The inmate, identified as Jonathan Grant, was serving a 34-to-40-year sentence for rape and burglary.

Officials said they found Grant dead in his cell on Saturday, Feb. 22, and began unsuccessful lifesaving measures.

Grant’s cause of death remains under investigation.

Did staffing play a factor in the death?

It’s unclear if the prison’s staffing situation factored into Grant’s death, but the public defender’s office, which gave counsel to Grant, raised concerns about a lack of access to medical care, medication and prescriptions for inmates.

As Straight Arrow News previously reported, the work stoppage has resulted in significant disruptions across more than 40 state prisons. This means missed meals, delayed medical care and suspended visitations within the prison.

Why are workers striking at New York state prisons?

Guards at the prisons began striking during the week of Feb. 17, which the Union representing the workers said it did not authorize.

Hundreds of corrections officers demanded better pay, security measures and a rollback of prison reforms, including limits on the use of solitary confinement, as well as addressing staffing shortages.

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Why is New York’s prison system under intense scrutiny?

The strike comes as New York’s prison system faces criticism following the death of Robert Brooks in December 2024.

Brooks, an inmate in New York’s Marcy Correctional Facility, died after corrections officers beat him.

Body camera video released in January 2025 showed officers kicking and punching Brooks while handcuffed.

The state arraigned the six guards involved in the beating, and they now face charges of murder.