State Assemblyman Mark Walczyk is applauding the decision by the New York State Department of Corrections and Community Supervision (DOCCS) to suspend inmate visitation starting 3 p.m., this Thursday, Dec. 31.

Assemblyman Walczyk, R-Watertown, recently sent a letter to the acting DOCCS commissioner, calling for an immediate end to inmate visitation.

This request stems from a previous letter Walczyk and his colleagues in the state Legislature sent to DOCCS in August, calling on the Department to implement accurate drug testing of inmates after false-positive tests were being generated by testing kits the Department used.

Without a precise plan to drug test inmates, Walczyk felt it imperative to call on DOCCS to suspend visitation in state prisons.

Walczyk is happy to see that DOCCS listened to the concerns outlined in his letter. Enacting this ban on inmate visitation will help safeguard the health and well-being of COs across the state, especially those in St. Lawrence and Jefferson Counties.

“I want to voice the perspective shared by many of the people I represent: In a time when New Yorker's aren't permitted to see their loved ones in a nursing home because of COVID-19, it's offensive, inconsistent and irresponsible that their tax dollars are paying for convicted felons in your care to get special visits,” said Assemblyman Walczyk in the letter to Acting DOCCS Commissioner Annucci.