When she first came into office in 2021, Hochul vowed to reform the clemency process and grant executive clemency on a rolling basis, a promise many advocates accused her of walking back
By NOAH POWELSON • QUEENS DAILY EAGLE
RAPP Campaign rally outside Governor Kathy Hochul’s Manhattan office, Sept. 15, 2026 (Photo: Noah Powelson, Queens Daily Eagle)
Two weeks after Governor Kathy Hochul pardoned six individuals but chose not to commute the sentences of any of the more than 1,000 New Yorkers who have applied, advocates stood outside her Midtown office on Tuesday and called on the governor not to let political pressure prevent her from keeping her promise to regularly use her clemency powers to release reformed individuals from prison.
Formerly incarcerated individuals, election officials, family members of those currently imprisoned and advocates rallied outside the governor’s Manhattan office on Tuesday, demanding she address the more than 1,000 commutation applications currently sitting on her desk.