Clemency advocates call on Cuomo to release long-serving inmates

Advocates called on Gov. Andrew Cuomo to release long-serving incarcerated older adults. Photo via the RAPP Campaign

By David Brand

Elder parole advocates and criminal justice reformers rallied in Manhattan Wednesday to call on Gov. Andrew Cuomo to grant clemency to older adults serving virtual life sentences behind bars.

Since 2011, Cuomo has granted clemency to 18 individuals, though roughly one in five New York prisoners — about 10,000 people — are serving life or virtual life sentences, meaning that their release date is later than they will likely survive.

Members of the Release Aging People in Prison Campaign, Parole Preparation Project, Jim Owles Liberal Democratic Club, Candles for Clemency, Survived and Punished NYC and other organizations joined the demonstration.

Advocates last year called for the release of several older adults behind bars. Cuomo commuted the sentences of seven people in December 2018, far fewer than other governors across the country.

Roy Bolus was one of the individuals released from prison. Bolus was serving an 80-years to life sentence for felony murder but became a mentor and earned his master’s degree in prison. He said many other older adults have also turned their lives around and deserve a chance for clemency.

“There are many people I left behind who, like me, made bad decisions but transformed their lives,” he said. “Governor Cuomo needs to know that there are people inside who deserve the clemency I got.”