Times Union photo illustration by Jeff Boyer.

An investigation by The Marshall Project found that a quarter of deaths in state prisons were “preventable.” In other words, care was available when inmates were suffering, yet no one intervened to save a life.

Another quarter of deaths involved violations of standards of care, with some described as “gross negligence,” “gross error” and “grossly inadequate care.”

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Taken together, that means half of all deaths in New York prisons stemmed from substandard health care. And that is disturbing beyond measure. It reflects a prison health care system that is deeply deficient not only in its treatment protocols but in something that’s just as essential: empathy.

The Marshall Project, a nonprofit covering the U.S. criminal justice system, examined records from 2016 to 2024 to determine how often people in New........

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