Petition to Remove Senator Julia Salazar and Amend the Halt Act

Under Senator Salazar’s leadership, New York’s correctional system has descended into unprecedented levels of violence, instability, and disorder. Her legislative record and committee influence have destabilized the correctional environment, endangered staff and incarcerated individuals, and eroded public safety.

Senator Salazar has championed a series of misguided laws — including the HALT Act, the Less Is More Act, and other measures — that have:

• Stripped officers of the necessary tools to maintain safety and order.
• Created environments where assaults, stabbings, and gang activity have become daily occurrences.
• Undermined accountability for violent offenders inside correctional facilities.
• Increased mental health issues exponentially amongst Correctional Officers and Civilian Staff alike.
  
  

The results are undeniable:

• Inmate-on-inmate assaults have increased by more than 113%.
• Assaults on correction officers are at record highs.
• Morale, staffing, and retention are collapsing statewide. 

Lack of Knowledge and Accountability:

Senator Salazar has repeatedly demonstrated a fundamental lack of understanding of the policies, procedures, and realities of correctional operations.

She has ignored the voices of front-line officers, refused to engage with subject-matter experts, and shown no willingness to amend or revisit failed legislation such as the HALT Act — even as evidence mounts of its catastrophic impact on safety.

Her leadership has not represented balance, fairness, or a commitment to public safety. It has instead fostered chaos, violence, retaliation, and fear across New York’s prisons.

We respectfully demand that:

1. Senator Julia Salazar immediately resign or be censured as Chair of the Senate Committee on Crime Victims, Crime and Correction immediately; 
2. The New York State Legislature conducts formal hearings into the true impacts of the HALT Act, the Less Is More Act, and related legislation on institutional safety to ultimately amend the Halt Act to provide for a safer and more holistic environment for everyone behind the walls of correctional facilities across New York State.
   

New Yorkers deserve a correctional system that protects officers, incarcerated individuals, and the public alike — not one crippled by ideology and neglect.

We, the undersigned, call for immediate action to restore safety, accountability, and leadership to New York’s correctional system.

Sign this petition to stand with the men and women who risk their lives behind the walls — and to demand real accountability in Albany to fix the Correctional Crisis across New York State.