Several residents and faith and civic leaders told the Albany County Legislature during the Oct. 14 public comment period that the county has repeatedly paid settlements stemming from alleged abuse, neglect and unlawful conduct at the Albany County Correctional Facility and pressed the Legislature to adopt independent oversight and other reforms.

Patricia Sebelia of the League of Women Voters of Albany County said the county has paid settlements and noted a running tally of county payouts given during the public comment session. She listed multiple settlements and their amounts that, according to the transcript, the county has paid since 2012: a $1,094,999 settlement in 2017 linked to the death of Mark Cannon after alleged denial of medical care; a roughly $1 million settlement in 2018–19 involving formerly incarcerated men transferred from Rikers who were allegedly beaten and assaulted while in county custody; a $150,000 settlement in 2019 after a pregnant woman said she was shackled while giving birth; a $750,000 settlement in 2021 for 11 people allegedly beaten by correctional officers; and a $25,000 settlement in 2022 involving Joshua Weinzerger, who reported broken dentures and an eye injury after an alleged assault by an officer. Sebelia said the total amount mentioned in public comment was $3,919,999 and that figure does not include ongoing or confidential settlements or indirect costs such as legal fees and insurance.

Other public speakers pressed similar concerns. Eva Bass, who identified herself as founder and executive director of Bridge Gap Resource & Outreach Inc. and executive director of A Village Inc., described alleged abuse, inhumane treatment, lack of oversight and neglect and urged the Legislature to create independent oversight, community-driven review and public reporting. She said many people in county custody contend with mental illness, poverty and addiction and called on officials to listen to those directly impacted.

The Rev. Jim Ketchum of the New York State Council of Churches and John Cutrow, who identified himself as an investigator and a physicist who has worked on police and corrections misconduct cases, also addressed the Legislature in the public comment period, urging attention to alleged brutality and failures in county corrections. Cutrow described lost lives tied to withdrawal-related medical crises inside the facility and urged systemic fixes.

Speakers also described a recently filed lawsuit arising from a Corrections Emergency Response Team (CERT) deployment outside of Albany County, saying correctional officers were allegedly violent during a deployment to another county. Public speakers said county taxpayers again will bear the cost of settlements.

Why it matters: Public commenters cited multiple multi‑year settlements and ongoing complaints they say have not been addressed through internal reforms. They urged independent oversight, policy changes and accountability measures; the Legislature did not vote on agency oversight during this meeting but several commenters asked the body to act.

Ending: Speakers asked for tangible follow-up such as independent investigation and better reporting; at least one commenter framed the county’s repeated payouts as “corruption by neglect.” The Legislature heard the comments during the public comment portion of the Oct. 14 meeting; no committee action on corrections oversight was recorded that evening.