State Legislators and Others Seek to Change State’s Parole System

By Austin Santiago and Milette Millington

 

State legislators and activists made an appearance at Brooklyn Law School on Thursday to announce their support of the “Community Supervision Revocation reform Act.”

The act focuses on parole reform for incarcerated New Yorkers, upon their release. The bill was introduced by New York State Assemblyman Walter Mosley, who emphasized the importance of more lenient parole protocols when dealing with inmates looking to re-enter society.

“By incentivizing good behavior, preventing re-incarceration for technical violations, and creating a higher threshold for less serious offenses, our state can save money and reform our criminal justice system,”  Mosley said.

The new legislation would reform the state’s parole system by shortening parole terms, allowing people to earn accelerated discharges, and requiring hearings before a judicial officer before jailing someone accused of a technical violation.

The new bill has gained support from various officials as well as former inmates. Mosley stressed the importance of that support at the press conference, saying: “Legislators are here to bring about social change, which leads to progress, with the intent to change lives.”

The bill would be an overhaul of the current New York State parole system.State Senator Brian Benjamin said the bill was an effort to “end mass incarceration in New York.” He added, “Those who are already out on parole are not safe because anything is being done to put them back in.”

Also present at the conference was Brooklyn District Attorney Eric Gonzalez, who said the current state parole system lacked resources. “When you have 35,000 people under supervision here in New York State, with very limited resources,” he said, “it is clear that it is easier to send those people back to prison than to send them back to our communities to make sure that they succeed.”

Regardless of the reason for the social failures of the current system, many feel it is time for the parole system in New York to get a much needed change. State Senator Jamal Bailey said, “The justice system is supposed to be about fairness.”