The growing crisis in New York’s prison system intensified after a convicted rapist attacked a female officer at Mid-State Correctional Facility, highlighting what corrections officers say are dangerously low staffing levels and increasing violence behind bars.

The state has temporarily suspended parts of the HALT Act, a law limiting how long an inmate can be placed in solitary confinement.

After a wildcat strike by New York prison guards entered its fifth day Friday, a mediator will now meet with both sides Monday to try and resolve the work stoppage at state prisons. While many correction officers and sergeants are refusing to report for duty,

Six New York prison guards have been indicted for second-degree murder in the beating death of a handcuffed inmate, a brutal incident captured on body-worn cameras that triggered widespread outrage and calls for justice.