Activists hold vigil for man who died in prison after being denied parole
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Mark Shervington, the Queens Organizer with Releasing Elderly People in Prison and the People’s Campaign for Parole Justice, speaks at a vigil for John MacKenzie, who died by suicide in Fishkill Correctional Facility after being denied parole for the tenth time. Photo courtesy of the People’s Campaign for Parole Justice
By Jacob Kaye
A coalition of nonprofits and activist fighting for parole reform gathered in Manhattan last week to honor John MacKenzie, a convicted murderer who died by suicide at the age of 70 in 2016 in Fishkill Correctional Facility after being denied parole for the tenth and final time.
The People’s Campaign for Parole Justice says MacKenzie might very well still be alive today had the bills they’re fighting for – the Elder Parole and Fair and Timely Parole – been passed into law at the time of his final parole hearing.
“Someone like John would have not only received an opportunity for release consideration under the Elder Parole bill, but a fair evaluation with Fair and Timely Parole,” said Mark Shervington, an organizer with the campaign and personal friend of MacKenzie’s. “I would venture to say that both of these bills perhaps would have saved his life.”
MacKenzie was sentenced to 25 years to life in prison after being convicted of killing Long Island police officer Matthew Giglio during a robbery gone wrong in 1975. He would go on to serve 40 years in prison with a near-perfect disciplinary record.
MacKenzie was a practicing Buddhist and served as a leader and teacher to people he was incarcerated with, said Shervington, who was born and raised in Jamaica and became close with MacKenzie when they both were incarcerated at Green Haven Correctional Facility.
“John MacKenzie to me was an example of a stand up guy, like a really righteous dude,” Shervington said. “His good nature character helped countless people behind bars and helped, especially younger people, to turn their lives around and stay focused.”
Shervington, who is the Queens organizer with Releasing Elderly People in Prison, one of the groups behind the campaign, is one of many urging New York State lawmakers to pass both parole bills.
The Elder Parole bill would allow for people aged 55 and older and who have already served for 15 or more years to receive an evaluation from the New York State Board of Parole.
The evaluation would be shaped by the Fair and Timely Parole bill, legislation that 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.
Sponsored by Sen. Brad Hoylman in the State Senate, the Elder Parole bill is co-sponsored by several Queens lawmakers including Sens. Leroy Comrie, Michael Gianaris, Jessica Ramos, John Liu, James Sanders Jr. and Toby Ann Stavisky, who all also serve as co-sponsors on the companion bill.
Both bills are currently in committee.
The People’s Campaign for Parole Justice sees the passage of the two bills as a racial justice and elderly justice issue. 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.
“For too long, we’ve had a parole system that values only retribution, not redemption,” Hoylman said. “Older adults 55 and older who have served 15 years should have a chance at parole. They can be released to their families.”
Assemblymember Jessica González-Rojas, who co-sponsored the Fair and Timely Parole bill in the Assembly, said at the vigil that she’s hoping the bills pass the next time the legislature reconvenes – it is currently not in session.
“There is no reason to choose punishment over healing and to be complicit in murder over fighting for liberation,” González-Rojas said.
“My heart goes out to John’s family and loved ones and the community of advocates who feel his loss very deeply,” she added. “I call on our legislature to pass parole justice, including Elder Parole and Fair and Timely Parole immediately. This can occur the next time we reconvene as a legislature, which I expect will be soon. I’m ready to vote yes for freedom.”
Shervington said he’s confident the bills will be passed sometime in the near future.
“We are continuing to fight and we will win,” he said. “There is no logical reason why we shouldn't. We're attempting to not only right wrongs, but to save lives. It is the right thing to do and it has to happen.”
