James “Buck” Martin
James Martin died on April 19, 2025, while held at Green Haven Correctional Facility in Dutchess County, New York, in the custody of the state Department of Corrections and Community Supervision. People who knew him described him as a devout Christian who taught Scripture to other men, a man known for standing up for what was right, and someone with a bright smile, and he was excited to be closer to his home in Brooklyn after a transfer. People who knew him said that weeks before his death he complained of severe abdominal pain and was given an antibiotic and aspirin by medical staff. The prison agency said it could not comment on his medical care, and he was taken to an outside hospital on April 12, where he died about a week later. The New York Attorney General's Office of Special Investigation, which reviews deaths in which an officer may have played a part, lists the death as medical, and the cause of death is not established in the reporting.
Cause of death, as reported: Died of illness. The New York Attorney General's Office of Special Investigation lists his death as a medical death.
Reported by: New York State Office of the Attorney General, Office of Special Investigation (outside investigators).