'The people left behind’: Advocates renew push to pass parole reform
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Robert Webster, a Queens man who was released from prison last October after serving 34 years of a 50 year sentence, received a proclamation in Albany for his community work. Photo via RAPP
By Jacob Kaye
Last year, Robert Webster was sitting in prison, facing the prospect of serving two more decades of his 50 year to life sentence. The Queens man had already served 34 years of that sentence, which he was given when he was 17 years old.
But on Wednesday, Webster was on a bus headed to Albany to receive a proclamation from state lawmakers recognizing work he’s done to give back to his community in the days, weeks and months since his unlikely and unexpected release from prison in October.
“It felt good to be acknowledged for the work that I came out here to do,” Webster told the Eagle. “But it’s really for the people that I left behind.”
Webster was in the state capitol for another reason, as well – to advocate for the passage of two stalled criminal justice reform bills, both of which may have changed the outcome of his life had they been passed into law while he was still incarcerated.
Webster was one of over 100 formerly incarcerated New Yorkers to make the trip to Albany on Wednesday to reignite the push to pass the Elder Parole and Fair and Timely Parole bills, both of which have received widespread support from lawmakers and advocates in the past but have yet to make it to the governor’s desk.
The bills are intended to work in tandem with each other, creating a greater opportunity for aging New Yorkers to be released from prison with the approval of a parole board.
The bills are specifically intended to address the growing elderly population inside New York State prisons, where a number of men and women are continuing to serve out decades-long sentences given to them in the 1980s and 1990s when excessively long sentences became standard practice, advocates say. The number of elderly people inside New York State prisons has tripled in the last decade and a half.
The Elder Parole bill would allow for people aged 55 and older and who have already served for 15 or more years of their sentence to receive an evaluation from the New York State Board of Parole. Currently, incarcerated people’s ability to appear before the time delineated by their sentence, regardless of their efforts while incarcerated.
The evaluation from the parole board, should both bills become law, would be shaped by the Fair and Timely Parole bill. The legislation would alter parole reviews and require a more holistic view of who a person has become while incarcerated, rather than focusing on the crime they were convicted of.
If passed into law, the bills would not guarantee an incarcerated person is released. They would, however, likely increase the number of people who are scheduled to appear before a parole board to be considered for release.
Advocates say the two bills address both racial justice and elderly justice issues. The vast majority of incarcerated people in New York State are people of color and Black and hispanic people are denied parole at a higher rate than their white counterparts, according to reporting by the Times Union.
In addition to saving the state money – supporters off the bill peg the money saved at $522 million per year – advocates say that the bills would go a long way toward improving public safety. A number of the men and women serving long sentences have served as mentors to younger prisoners and have advised them to study, work and focus on self improvement while incarcerated.
The work they do inside the prisons could be translated into their communities, should the bills pass, supporters say.
“Currently and formerly incarcerated people have created some of the most effective anti-violence programs and victim awareness programs in our state, yet many are still languishing and dying behind bars with little or no hope of even being considered for release because of New York’s outdated parole laws,” said Jose Saldana, the director of the Release Aging People in Prison Campaign.
“As lawmakers consider critical interventions to improve community safety, we are gathering in great numbers in the Capitol to remind them that we're part of the solution and expanding pathways to parole release will unlock our state’s potential,” Saldana added.
Webster, who was released from Green Haven Correctional Facility in October after his attorneys and the Queens district attorney’s office submitted a joint motion to reduce his sentence, said that many of the men that helped him navigate the criminal justice system when he was a teen are still incarcerated.
“I just wanted to see those guys come home,” Webster said. “They deserve the opportunity.”
There are only a handful of options available to incarcerated people looking to have their sentence come to an end earlier than their sentence requires.
Like Webster, New Yorkers can attempt to have their sentences reduced through the courts. However, that process can be expensive, time consuming and unsuccessful.
Incarcerated New Yorkers can also apply for clemency with the governor’s office, a process that is currently undergoing a number of changes and reforms at the direction of Governor Kathy Hochul – though several of those reforms have begun to take effect in the past year, several more have seen little progress.
But clemency isn’t seen as a viable route to release for many incarcerated people. In December, Hochul commuted the sentences of four people. The year prior, she commuted the sentence of one person. Thousands of New Yorkers apply for clemency each year.
“[The Elder Parole and Fair and Timely Parole bills] would have been one of my options,” Webster said. “I know how fellas feel when they don't have all the options that I had, but they deserve an opportunity.”
The Elder Parole bill is currently sponsored by Manhattan State Senator Brad Hoylman-Sigal and Brooklyn Assemblymember Maritza Davila.
“Long prison sentences without a meaningful chance for parole don’t keep New Yorkers safer or deter crime,” Hoylman-Sigal said in a statement. “We must stop throwing all of our people – and all of our dollars – into these dungeons and instead invest in supporting people’s return to their communities. I know we will win parole justice this session.”
The Fair and Timely Parole bill is sponsored by Queens and Brooklyn State Senator Julia Salazar and Queens Assemblymember David Weprin.
Last week, Salazar said that the proclamations given to the dozens of formerly incarcerated New Yorkers show the potential for giving more people an opportunity at release.
“Many of those receiving proclamations from their elected representatives experienced firsthand the failures of government policies for much of their lives,” Salazar said. “They made terrible mistakes and still they have come back to uplift struggling communities across the state, provide unparalleled support in critical roles like non-profit leaders, drug recovery specialists, violence interrupters, and re-entry counselors, and help improve safety for all.”
“The best way we as legislators can honor them is to pass Elder Parole and Fair and Timely Parole to bring home more leaders to do more great work,” she added.
Despite being introduced in 2019, both bills have yet to make it past committee and on to the floor of the legislature.
In a statement to the Eagle, a spokesperson for the governor declined to comment on the merit of the bills.
“Governor Hochul will review all legislation that passes both houses of the legislature,” the spokesperson said.
