Parole Justice
There is a crisis in New York State prisons: people are aging and dying while incarcerated. More than a thousand people have died in NYS prisons over the last decade–disproportionately Black and Latine/x/a/o/Hispanic people–and another thousand people will die there in the coming years if the law does not change. Many New Yorkers are eligible for parole release but face repeated denials due only to the nature of their conviction – the one thing they can never change. Enacting Fair & Timely Parole (S497-A/A4346) would amend the standards used by the Board of Parole to make release determinations based on who a person is today and what they have done to change during their incarceration. Enacting Elder Parole (S2144/A9040) would ensure that all people age 55 or older who have served at least 15 years of their sentence are granted a parole hearing, regardless of their original sentence.
Resources
Elder Parole and Fair & Timely Parole Fact Sheet
Times Union Article: A Broken Parole Process: Data Shows Widened Racial Bias
Free Our Elders!
Many of the older adults who are in prison in New York have records of positive achievement and are praised by prison officials as peacemakers and role models. Despite these truths, the vast majority of elders in prison are routinely denied parole and compassionate release by the state. Sign this petition to demand that New York State bring incarcerated elders home.