Anatomy of a Prison Murder

Last December, Glenn S. Goord, commissioner of the state Department of Correctional Services, released a "policy paper" in which he declared that Upstate prison has been a success, that there have been fewer incidents of violence in the state prison system since it opened. The report cited system-wide statistics showing incidents of both inmate-on-staff assaults and inmate-on-inmate assaults have plunged. The report does not mention the murder in cell B-29.

Brunson is no longer at Upstate. Shortly after Quintana's death, there was a five-hour administrative hearing held to determine Brunson's fate within the prison system. A hearing officer found him guilty of four charges, including assault on an inmate and refusing a direct order. His punishment: 12 more years in the box. Now Brunson is at Clinton prison in nearby Dannemora, locked in his cell for 23 hours a day, this time without a bunky.