By REUVEN BLAU / THE CITY
A coalition of more than 50 advocacy organizations is urging New York lawmakers to scrutinize the state’s prison system, pressing for answers about alleged brutality, deaths behind bars and violations of solitary confinement reforms as the legislature weighs more than $4 billion in funding.
The push for reforms comes amid renewed scrutiny of the correctional system following the deaths of Robert Brooks and Messiah Nantwi, two incarcerated men killed by officers inside state prisons four months apart.
The demands were outlined in a letter sent Tuesday to Gov. Kathy Hochul, state Senate Majority Leader Andrea Stewart-Cousins, Assembly Speaker Carl E. Heastie and other lawmakers…