Bill > S08106

This bill establishes an independent office of chief medical examiner within the Department of Corrections and Community Supervision, which will be led by a chief medical examiner, a deputy chief medical examiner, and eight associate medical examiners, all of whom will be appointed by the governor and must be medical doctors certified in forensic pathology with significant experience in death investigations. The office will have broad powers to investigate deaths in correctional facilities, including conducting independent autopsies and forensic investigations, taking testimony under oath, and collecting comprehensive data about deaths of incarcerated individuals. The chief medical examiner will be required to publish annual public reports with detailed individual-level data about incarcerated deaths, including information on cause of death, manner of death, age, race/ethnicity, and sex, as well as preliminary death reports within 90 days of each death. The commissioner of the department is prohibited from interfering with the office's investigative duties, and the chief medical examiner must deliver copies of all reports to the district attorney, attorney general, commissioner, and legislature. The bill will take effect 180 days after becoming law, providing time for implementation of the new office and its procedures.

Justice

https://www.nysenate.gov/legislation/bills/2025/S8106