Dear RAPP family,
Following the horrific murders of two incarcerated people, Robert Brooks and Messiah Nantwi, by prison guards and sergeants, the 2025 legislative session in New York State was supposed to address the crisis of racist brutality in the prison system. Not since the death of Kalief Browder has there been as much focus on the crisis of mass incarceration in our state. Sadly, despite powerful advocacy by survivors of incarceration, people with loved ones still inside, people whose loved ones were killed by this system, and a massive and broad coalition of other stakeholders, state lawmakers failed to meet the moment by creating fair pathways home through parole justice measures—passing neither Elder Parole nor Fair & Timely Parole, nor sentencing reforms. Our fight continues — and we’ll need YOU in the coming months as we collectively regroup and plot our next steps to win parole justice and ultimately dismantle the racist incarceration system.
Lawmakers did, however, pass a multi-part prison policy bill that now goes to the governor for her signature or veto; she has until midnight of December 31 to act, and can negotiate changes before signing it. Below you can read more about this bill, which includes several welcome policy changes but, infuriatingly, leaves all 32,000+ people behind in the system that killed Brooks, Nantwi, and countless others. The RAPP Campaign actively supported two of the bills that were ultimately included in this “omnibus bill”. One requires DOCCS to provide notice to families and then to the public when a person dies in prison. Another bill pauses the statute of limitations for civil cases relating to abuse suffered while in state or local custody, in light of the extreme dangers faced by people who report abuse while still incarcerated. Among other benefits, both of these bills will help to raise more awareness about the staff brutality, sexual violence, and needless deaths wrought by our prison system — and collectively we will all make sure policymakers hear about this crisis more and more as we demand more systemic change.
With you, RAPP and the People’s Campaign for Parole Justice will keep fighting—and we will pass the Elder Parole and Fair and Timely Parole bills and other bills promoting the actual release of incarcerated people.