Here in New York, more than 2,000 prison guards who joined a wildcat strike have been fired for failing to return to work by a Monday morning deadline set by an agreement between state officials and the guards’ union reached this weekend. Governor Kathy Hochul signed an executive order Tuesday banning the fired prison guards from future law enforcement and other civil service jobs in New York. The illegal strike led to dozens of state prisons being placed on lockdown, with incarcerated people decrying worsening conditions inside. At least nine prisoners died during the strike, including 22-year-old Messiah Nantwi, whose death is being investigated by a special prosecutor. Fifteen corrections employees were also placed on leave after witnesses said Nantwi was fatally beaten by a group of prison officers. As part of the agreement to end the strike, some prohibitions in New York’s HALT Solitary Act, which stands for Humane Alternatives to Long-Term Solitary Confinement, were suspended. The law was meant to protect incarcerated people from being subjected to indefinite use of solitary confinement and was at the center of the wildcat strike led by prison guards who’ve long opposed the measure.