NEW YORK — Today, Governor Kathy Hochul granted two commutations to incarcerated people and 11 pardons to people living in the community, all of whom had transformed their lives. However, she failed to act on hundreds of other applications, despite the ongoing humanitarian crisis in her prison system and Trump’s mass deportation regime.
In response, Jose DiLenola, Clemency Campaign Director for the Release Aging People in Prison Campaign and a survivor of 26 years in prison, released the following statement:
“We applaud the eleven potentially life-saving pardons granted to people already living in the community, and we hope to welcome home the two individuals who received commutations. That said, we are frustrated that Governor Hochul failed to act on the applications of countless deserving New Yorkers despite the humanitarian crisis in her prisons and the horrors of Trump’s mass deportation regime. Moreover, she broke the promise she made to families to grant clemencies on a rolling basis, waiting until the day before New Year’s Eve to grant any commutations. Let us be clear: This is not justice or compassion. It is a weak performance of small mercy that leaves the vast majority of our community behind…