New York Consolidated Laws

N.Y. Correction Law § 47 (2026)

Functions, powers and duties of the board

✓ current as of May 2026

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§ 47. Functions, powers and duties of the board. 1. The board shall
have the following functions, powers and duties:
  (a) Investigate and review the cause and circumstances surrounding the
death of any incarcerated individual of a correctional facility.
  (b) Visit and inspect any correctional facility wherein an
incarcerated individual has died.
  (c) Cause the body of the deceased to undergo such examinations,
including an autopsy, as in the opinion of the board, are necessary to
determine the cause of death, irrespective of whether any such
examination or autopsy shall have previously been performed.
  (d) Upon review of the cause of death and circumstances surrounding
the death of any incarcerated individual, the board shall submit its
report thereon to the commission and to the governor, the chair of the
assembly committee on correction and the chair of the senate committee
on crime victims, crime and correction and, where appropriate, make
recommendations to prevent the recurrence of such deaths to the
commission and the administrator of the appropriate correctional
facility. The report provided to the governor, the chair of the assembly
committee on correction and the chair of the senate committee on crime
victims, crime and correction shall not be redacted except as otherwise
required to protect confidential medical records and behavioral health
records in accordance with state and federal laws, rules, and
regulations.
  (e) (i) Investigate and report to the commission on the condition of
systems for the delivery of medical care to incarcerated individuals of
correctional facilities and where appropriate recommend such changes as
it shall deem necessary and proper to improve the quality and
availability of such medical care. Such report and recommendation shall
minimally consist of an annual report of the board to the commission.
  (ii) The board shall be responsive to inquiries from the next of kin
and other person designated as a representative of any incarcerated
individual whose death takes place during custody in a state
correctional facility regarding the circumstances surrounding the death
of such incarcerated individual. Contact information for the next of kin
and designated representative shall be provided by the department to the
board from the emergency contact information previously provided by the
incarcerated individual to the department.
  2. Every administrator of a correctional facility shall immediately
report to the board the death of an incarcerated individual of any such
facility in such manner and form as the board shall prescribe, together
with an autopsy report.

Notes of Decisions

Cited in 11 cases (2 in the last 5 years), 1976–2022 · leading case: New York City Health & Hospitals Corp. v. New York State Comm'n of Corr., 969 N.E.2d 765 (NY 2012).

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New York City Health & Hospitals Corp. v. New York State Comm'n of Corr., 969 N.E.2d 765 (NY 2012). · cites it 6× “First among the Board’s statutorily assigned functions, powers and duties is the ‘ ‘ [i] nvestigat[ion] and review [of] the cause and circumstances surrounding the death of any inmate of a correctional facility” (Correction Law § 47 [1] [a]). The Board, relatedly, has broad…”

Matter of Disability Rights N.Y. v. New York State Commn. of Corr., 2021 NY Slip Op 03098 (N.Y. App. Div. 2021). · cites it 2× “Callahan outlined respondent's relevant statutory and regulatory functions and duties ( see generally Correction Law art 3), which include, as relevant here, the duty to, through the work of the correction medical review board, investigate and review the cause and circumstances…”

Schwartz v. State, 162 Misc. 2d 313 (1994). · cites it 5× “SCOC is an oversight and rule-making agency that is separate from DOCS and has jurisdiction over both State and local correctional facilities (see, Correction Law art 3).”

Kozlowski v. City of Amsterdam, 111 A.D.2d 476 (N.Y. App. Div. 1985). “Plaintiff also contends that Trial Term erred in refusing to admit into evidence a report prepared by the Medical Review Commission of the State Commission of Corrections pursuant to Correction Law § 47 (1) (a), (d) concerning decedent’s death.”

Lucas v. Wasser, 425 F. Supp. 955 (S.D.N.Y. 1976). “N.Y. Correction Law § 47 (McKinney Supp. 1975).”

Croce v. Alicandro, 7 Misc. 3d 744 (N.Y. Sup. Ct. 2005). · cites it 2× “Following notification of the inmate’s death, the Commission, in accordance with Correction Law § 47 (1) (a), initiated an investigation into the cause and circumstances of the death.”

State Comm'n of Corr. v. Nassau Cnty. Med. Ctr., 137 A.D.2d 127 (N.Y. App. Div. 1988). · cites it 3× “Significantly, the MRB is statutorily required to "[investigate and review the cause and circumstances surrounding the death of any inmate of a correctional facility” (Correction Law § 47 [1] [a] [emphasis supplied]) and to "[investigate and report to [petitioner] on the…”

In re an Investigation by the New York State Comm'n, 134 Misc. 2d 218 (N.Y. Sup. Ct. 1986). · cites it 2× “The Medical Review Board of the Commission of Correction is investigating the circumstances surrounding his death pursuant to Correction Law § 47. The decedent, prior to his death, was a patient of Dr.”

Smith v. Baugh (W.D.N.Y. 2022). · cites it 2× “Law § 41 (McKinney 1975), is required by N.Y. Corr. Law § 47 (McKinney 2021) to investigate and issue reports concerning the deaths of inmates incarcerated at state and local prisons.”

Croce v. Bhattacharyya, 1 Misc. 3d 863 (N.Y. Sup. Ct. 2003). · cites it 3× “The Commission of Correction via its Medical Revievf Board is statutorily required pursuant to Correction Law § 47 (1) (a) to “[^Investigate and review the cause and circumstances surrounding the death of any inmate of a correctional facility.”

New York City Health & Hospitals Corp. v. New York State Comm'n of Corr., 76 A.D.2d 453 (N.Y. App. Div. 2010). “Within the Commission is a medical review board responsible for, inter alia, investigating “the cause and circumstances surrounding the death of any inmate of a correctional facility” (Correction Law § 47 [1] [a]). In the exercise of its duties, the Commission is authorized to…”

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