Senate members press for justice after Robert Brooks' death at Marcy Correctional Facility

Senator Salazar introduced family members of Robert Brooks on the Senate floor on Feb. 11, 2025, and said an autopsy confirmed Brooks’ death was a homicide after what she described as a beating at Marcy Correctional Facility on Dec. 9.

The introduction mattered because it put a high-profile death in state custody on the record in the Senate chamber and prompted calls from senators for policy and cultural changes to prevent future deaths in state prisons.

Senator Salazar told colleagues she was “honored and humbled” to welcome Brooks’ family—identified in the chamber as Robert’s father, Robert Ricks; his mother, Mary Brooks; and his cousin, Eileen Graham, who traveled from Rochester. Salazar said the family had watched public video footage and that “this was a homicide.” She described the violence as “horrific” and said it “shocks the conscience.”

Salazar recounted remarks she said were made by Brooks’ father at a press conference: “They denied my son a second chance,” and that Brooks “was due to come home in 2026.” The senator said Brooks and his father had spoken regularly and that Brooks had expressed plans to do community work after release.

“Robert Brooks’ family, his father recently spoke at a press conference related to his son's death, and his words there resonated with me,” Salazar said. She added that the death “demonstrates a sickness in our state's carceral system” and urged the chamber to pursue policy change and cultural shifts to “confront and seek to eradicate that sickness.”

The Senate extended the privileges of the chamber to Brooks’ family and asked them to rise and be recognized before moving on to the day’s legislative calendar.