New York has an incarceration crisis and it’s long past time elected leaders address it. Thousands of parole-eligible New Yorkers are repeatedly denied parole release, and thousands more are ineligible for parole consideration. Coupled with long sentences, these repeated denials, which are disproportionately handed to Black and Latinx people, have contributed to the ballooning older population in state prisons. Lawmakers should pass Elder Parole (S15/A3475) and Fair & Timely Parole (S1415/A4231) to address the prison crisis and create a more fair parole process where people have real and meaningful opportunities for release to their families and communities.
Since the start of the pandemic, dozens of incarcerated people in New York jails and prisons died from COVID-19, and thousands have contracted the virus. Inaction is no longer acceptable. Elected leaders must grant clemencies, pass the Fair and Timely and Elder Parole bills and protect and improve bail reform. The time is now to save lives.
Meet some of the people who were impacted by bail and why changes to the laws were and continue to be unacceptable.
New York took a step towards ending the criminalization of poverty and delivering New Yorkers the pretrial justice they deserve — but we still have work to do.
New York passed a historic package of pretrial reforms in 2019. Watch three New York families explain how money bail harmed their families and how they fought for change.