Parole advocates urge legislature to pass reform bills
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Advocates gathered outside the Capitol building in Albany Wednesday to urge lawmakers to vote on parole reform legislation during a special session. Photo via RAPP
By Rachel Vick
Advocates rallied Wednesday to call on the State Legislature to pass parole legislation as they reconvene for a special session to address the eviction moratorium.
The lawmakers and activists gathered in Albany to call for the passage of the Elder and Fair and Timely Parole bills, which were in committee before the end of the last session.
“The similarities and parallels are astonishing,” said Anthony Dixon, director of community engagement at the Parole Preparation Project. “We’re talking about shortening how long a person stays in prison and legislators are also talking about whether we should extend a person’s stay on where they live.”
“In an overarching way we are talking about how the downtrodden are treated in New York State,” he added. “We’re talking about legislators who are obligated to represent the communities of the downtrodden and people inside of New York State.”
The Elder Parole bill would automatically allow a Parole Board evaluation for people aged 55 and older who have already served at least 15 years, with a broader view of who the potential parolee had become, instead of focusing on their crime. The Fair and Timely Parole bill would also require the board to take a more holistic view of the individual into account.
Formerly incarcerated individuals and family members were joined by Queens legislators including Assembly Members Jessica Gonzalez-Rojas, Zohran Mamdani, Ron Kim and David Weprin.
“It is morally wrong that they continued to get denied parole, denied another chance at life,” Weprin said. “The nature of the crime will never change but we all know that people can.
Those with firsthand experience shared stories of being rejected for parole multiple times while others shared the triumph of their release and the heartbreak over those who died inside while waiting for parole.
Melissa Tanis, an organizer with the People’s Campaign for Parole Justice, said that her family was left to depend on the prison where her terminally ill father was held for updates that rarely came, and that they were not able to say goodby.
“This has hurt our viability to process the grief of losing him and we are torturing the families of incarcerated loved ones every time we overlook bills that would bring their family members home to them,” Tanis said. “These bills are not just about parole reform, they are about dignity. They are about showing incarcerated people and their families that you see us as humans and deserve to be treated as such.”
