Members of the New York State Corrections Emerald Society Pipe Band perform a selection during the 2002 Memorial Service and Medals Ceremony.

[The original image -- uncropped, at higher resolution, without lettering -- can be accessed via a page on NYS DOCS' web site featuring links to its memorial ceremony photos. The above caption is from that page.]


GOVERNOR HELPS HONOR NEW YORK'S CORRECTION OFFICERS

[Above:] Governor Pataki awards a 2002 Medal of Honor to Coxsackie Sergeant Jeffrey D. Haines.

[Below:] Governor Pataki awards a 2002 Medal of Honor to Wende Correction Officer Paul D. MacNeil.

[The original images -- uncropped and at higher resolution -- can be accessed via a page on NYS DOCS' web site featuring links to its memorial ceremony photos. The above captions are from that page.]

Participates in Ceremony Honoring DOCS
Employees, Fallen Prison Heroes

Part II of NYCHS excerpts from DOCS 2002 Memorial Ceremony press release:

[ALBANY, JUNE 4, 2002] - . . . . Two Medals of Honor and two Medals of Merit were presented to Department employees for their outstanding service in 2001. They are:

  • Sergeant Jeffrey Haines of Coxsackie Correctional Facility, who received the Medal of Honor for stopping an inmate's vicious assault on another inmate.
  • Officer Paul MacNeil of Wende Correctional Facility in Alden, who received the Medal of Honor for coming to the rescue of an Officer who had been knocked unconscious during an attack by an inmate.
  • Plant utility engineer Mark Battaglia of Wende, who received the Medal of Merit for coming to the assistance of a LeRoy police officer being assaulted by a motorist he stopped.
  • Officer Clinton Stevens of Washington Correctional Facility in Comstock, who received the Medal of Merit for crossing the weakening ice on Lake George to aid in the rescue of a man who had fallen through.

At today's ceremony, Governor Pataki also became the first Governor ever to receive the Department's highest award -- the Medal of Honor.


Plant Utility Engineer Mark C. Battaglio of Wande CF
[Above:] Governor Pataki awards a 2002 Medal of Merit to Wende Plant Utility Engineer Mark G. Battaglia.

[Below:] Governor Pataki awards a 2002 Medal of Merit to Washington Correction Officer Clinton L. Stevens.

[The original images -- uncropped and at higher resolution -- can be accessed via a page on NYS DOCS' web site featuring links to its memorial ceremony photos. The above captions are from that page.]

In presenting the Medal of Honor award to Governor Pataki, DOCS Commissioner Glenn S. Goord said

"You have worked tirelessly to give our staff the tools it needs to make our prisons more secure.

"You have provided all inmates with expanded programs that contribute to making our prisons safer, while offering nonviolent offenders the opportunity to earn early release.

"Your support and determination to accomplish these goals have earned you our Medal of Honor."

These text excerpts are from a press release that can be accessed in PDF via a page on NYS DOCS' web site.

Senator Dale M. Volker, Chairman of the Committee on Criminal and Civil Codes said

"There is a reason why New York ranks as one of the safest states in the entire country, and that reason is Governor Pataki's effective long-term strategies in reducing illegal behavior in our communities, especially violent criminal behavior.

"The Governor has invested in our State corrections personnel, stiffened penalties for violent criminal behavior, made enormous progress in ensuring that victims are given compensation and recourse; while at the same time maintaining and protecting the rights of those accused of illegal offenses."


Senator Michael F. Nozzolio, Chairman of the Crime Victims, Crime and Correction Committee said

The mood was subdued and somber during the 2002 Memorial Service and Medals Ceremony at the Department's Training Academy in Albany.

[The original image -- uncropped and at higher resolution -- can be accessed via a page on NYS DOCS' web site featuring links to its memorial ceremony photos. The above caption is from that page.]

"Governor Pataki has been a leader in making the workplace safer for correction officers, right-sizing our prison system, and enhancing public safety. As a result of his leadership, assaults on correctional staff are at the lowest level in 20 years, crime has been reduced dramatically, and our correctional facilities are safer than ever." . . .

According to Commissioner Goord, overcrowding has been reduced in medium security prisons through the Governor's alternatives that have, since 1995, allowed more then 44,000 selected, nonviolent offenders to gain release prior to completing their court-set minimum sentences.

The Commissioner also noted

  • the Governor's contributions to the lowest rates of inmate-on-staff and inmate-on-inmate assaults in 20 years;
  • his approval of a law criminalizing the inmate throwing of bodily waste;
  • and his support for improved inmate HIV and TB treatment regimens that reduce the possibility of transmission to staff.
  • In addition, the death penalty bill signed into law by the Governor also applies to inmates, who kill prison staff.
To Part I of DOCS 2002 Memorial Ceremony.

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