NEW MEXICO (KRQE) – On Monday, Oct. 17, the ACLU went before state lawmakers using surveillance video to make their case that New Mexico’s prison system needs to be policed better. They used a recent video that exposed guards standing around watching as an inmate was beaten by other prisoners.
The ACLU says there have been 74 settlements with the Corrections Department over the past four years. An attorney that frequently represents inmates against the state says it’s time for independent oversight.
“You want to have somebody who has fresh eyes and an open mind who is not in any way burdened by some connection to the system of which they’re overseeing,” Matthew Coyte is a civil rights lawyer and at the the Courts, Corrections and Justice Interim Committee meeting he said.
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The Courts, Corrections and Justice Interim Committee watched a video that shows an inmate being attacked for about thirty seconds while officers stand back and watch, knowing security cameras are rolling.
The video from the state prison in Los Lunas was sent to the ACLU anonymously. The civil rights attorney claims it shows corrections officers think they’re untouchable — that they know everything they do will be swept under the carpet. Democratic lawmakers like Senator Antoinette Sedillo Lopez and Senator Patricia Roybal Caballero showed support for making changes.
They also discussed staffing shortages and the need to bring in a higher quality of corrections officers — with better pay and incentives to get a college degree. Coyote said, “If you’re going to give a college education to an inmate, why not give one to the guard? Right? So invest in the people, and slowly the culture will change.”
Two years ago, there was an attempt to pass a bill on prison oversight. It would have allowed outside investigators access to documents, inmates, and guards. They wouldn’t decide on discipline, just write the reports. The ACLU says the new bill will look similar to the last one, which never made it to a vote.
According to the secretary for the Department of Corrections, the prison fight incident from August is still under investigation.
