ALBANY, N.Y. (NEXSTAR) — The New York State Legislature passed a bill this month letting formerly incarcerated people sue the state for injuries received while in custody, a move drawing criticism from advocates of child sex abuse survivors. The legislative session ended without a fix for certain child abuse cases whose own claims face dismissal, creating a divide among survivor groups.
The Fair Access to Justice Act—passed by the State Senate and Assembly as part J of the Prison Reform Omnibus Bill—would extend the time limit for filing lawsuits against the state. The new three-year statute of limitations would start when they’re released from state detention at a Department of Corrections and Community Supervision facility or related hospital. And it would cover both physical and psychological injuries experienced while under lock and key, no matter when during their sentence that they allege abuse took place.
State Senator Julia Salazar, sponsor of both the omnibus generally and Fair Access to Justice specifically, said that it addresses an unjust process currently requiring incarcerated survivors to report abuse on a short timetable, often while risking retaliation. Governor Kathy Hochul has not yet signed the omnibus bill into law nor indicated her position on the matter.
Emily Miles, who leads the Survivor Justice Coalition, a group that advocated for the bill, said it will help “predominantly Black and trans women abused in state prisons and jails” and comprise most pending Adult Survivors Act cases. That act was a temporary measure that changed the statute of limitations to let older abuse claims get filed.
The ASA allowed 1,553 claims to be filed and processed by formerly incarcerated survivors. New York’s prison population currently includes over 30,000 individuals, with almost three-quarters identified as people of color.
The Coalition for Just and Compassionate Compensation criticized the legislature for passing the bill without addressing a critical issue for survivors of child sexual abuse. CJCC said the legislation gives concessions to “cop killers” while ignoring people who were sexually abused as children.
They drew a parallel with the Child Victims Act, passed in 2019 to give those adult survivors a two-year window to file lawsuits that would otherwise be too old. Hundreds of claims filed under the CVA now face dismissal due to a procedural barrier, according to CJCC.
On March 18, the Court of Appeals issued a ruling in “Wright v. State” impacting these CVA cases, deciding that claims against the state still require specific details like the exact date, time, and place of the abuse. Advocates argue that this requirement is nearly impossible for survivors of childhood trauma to meet.
“I don’t know a single one who could give the exact time and date of when they were abused,” said Gary Greenberg, a survivor of childhood sexual abuse and founder of Fighting for Children PAC. “That’s not how trauma works.”
CJCC Executive Director David Catalfamo called the legislature’s actions a “gut punch to every survivor who came forward under the CVA believing the state finally had their back.”
Steve Jimenez, a CJCC board member and survivor, called the situation “staggering hypocrisy.”
But Miles argued against their comparisons. “Pitting one group of survivors against another does nothing to advance the urgent need for all survivors to access justice that will support their healing.” She added that such a narrative “feeds into the patriarchal and racist narrative that some victims aren’t worthy of bodily autonomy or protection.”
“These things are not mutually exclusive,” Salazar said in echo of the sentiment. “We should be making it easier, not harder, for survivors of sexual assault to seek the justice they deserve across the board.”
(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by PostX News and is published from a syndicated feed.)
