Press Releases

PRESS RELEASE, August 19, 2026 — Philadelphia, PA (August 19, 2026) Yesterday, Professor Rachel López and law students at Temple University Beasley School of Law filed a petition with the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights (IACHR) on behalf of Charles “Shug” Slaughter, a 73-year-old man with prostate cancer and a heart condition who has spent five decades incarcerated in a Pennsylvania state prison serving a sentence of life without parole (LWOP)....

RAPP Campaign Statement, June 5, 2026 — (New York) Today, on the final day of New York State’s 2026 Legislative Session, Jose Saldaña, Director of the Release Aging People in Prison Campaign (RAPP), a crime survivor, and a survivor of 38 years in New York State prisons, released the following statement...

PRESS RELEASE, June 2, 2026 — Today, a coalition of formerly incarcerated leaders, grieving families, and human rights advocates gathered in the corridor to the New York State Capitol for a powerful and solemn funeral rally condemning Governor Kathy Hochul and the legislature for their inaction in the face of suffering, physical and sexual abuse, and death in prison, and demanding they act in the final few days of session...

PRESS RELEASE, May 26, 2026 — Participants Called for the Removal of Commissioner Martuscello, Implementation of the HALT Solitary Law & Expanded Pathways of Release in order to End the Longstanding and Acute Crises of Racism, Brutality, and Death...

PRESS RELEASE, May 20, 2026 — (New York State) Today, the New York State Senate Committee on Crime Victims, Crime and Correction passed the Fair & Timely Parole Act, which restores the Parole Board to its original purpose of evaluating people’s readiness for release, rather than denying people based solely or primarily on the conviction for which they have already served their sentence, while preserving the Board’s discretion to make individualized determinations. In other words, it would provide more rigorous parole reviews for incarcerated people who are already parole-eligible, with a focus on current safety risk. The bill passed the committee with unanimous support from committee members of the Senate Majority Conference. 

STATEMENT, May 8, 2026 — (New York State) Today, Governor Kathy Hochul granted 19 pardons to people living in the community, all of whom had transformed their lives and deserved this relief. However, she failed to act on a single clemency application from an incarcerated woman ahead of Mother’s Day, or any incarcerated people of any gender, despite the ongoing humanitarian crisis in her prison system. In response, Jose Saldana, Director of RAPP, released the following statement///

Press Release, May 8, 2026 — (New York State) Today, on the eve of Mother’s Day weekend, state and local lawmakers, formerly incarcerated mothers and mothers with loved ones in prison, crime survivors, and more held six Mother’s Day Rallies for Parole Justice across New York State. In Harlem, Buffalo, Yonkers, Newburgh, Rochester, and Hauppauge, participants celebrated mothers and mother figures behind the wall of New York state prisons...

Press Release, April 27, 2026 — (Albany, NY) – Today, NY State Lawmakers, crime survivors and formerly incarcerated New Yorkers held a rally and press conference to call attention to surging deaths in New York State prisons and demand passage of common-sense Parole Justice measures to save lives, save money, and reunite families...

Press Release, April 16, 2026 — Speakers Call for Urgent Reforms to Prison Conditions and Fair Pathways Home for Incarcerated People Who Have Transformed While Inside...

Press Release, April 8, 2026 — (New York) At a press conference on April 7 to announce a new therapeutic unit in Bellevue, New York City Mayor Zohran K. Mamdani called on Albany lawmakers to pass Elder Parole for New York State...

Press Release, March 16, 2026 — As Part of “End Mass Incarceration” Advocacy Day, Speakers Demand Fair Pathways Home from Prison & End to Prison Abuse...

Press Release, March 13, 2026 — Questions address staff brutality, HALT Law violations, aging and death, parole, and visiting rights...

RAPP STATEMENT, March 11, 2026 — (New York) Yesterday, GOP Monroe County Legislators temporarily abandoned their posts at a public hearing when a constituent, Jalil Muntaqim, rose to speak on the housing crisis in Rochester. Jose Saldaña, Director of RAPP, a survivor of 38 years in New York State prisons, and a crime survivor, released the following statement...

RAPP STATEMENT, March 3, 2026 — New York State Comptroller Thomas DiNapoli released a new report, "Post-COVID Trends in New York’s Aging Prison Population," which recommends that state lawmakers consider parole reforms and other measures to safely reduce the number of older adults in state prisons...

MEDIA ADVISORY, February 11, 2026 — Ahead of State Budget Hearing on NY Prison System, Speakers to Call for Sentencing Reform, Parole Justice, and Urgent Policies to Transform Conditions Behind Bars...

PRESS RELEASE, January 21, 2026 — (Albany, NY) — Today, the National Action Network’s House of Justice, more than a dozen state legislators, crime survivors and formerly incarcerated advocates held a rally to demand passage of Parole Justice legislation to promote transformation and healing, help build safe communities, and end permanent punishment...

MEDIA ADVISORY, January 12, 2026 — WHAT: People who have been incarcerated on Rikers Island, family members, and allies as part of the Jails Action Coalition and #HALTsolitary Campaign to hold a rally ahead of a meeting of the Board of Correction, after the death of Kyron Randall at Rikers in late December. NYC jails remain in a deadly humanitarian crisis that has taken the lives of countless New Yorkers and continues to leave thousands of people in dire conditions....

PRESS RELEASE, January 7, 2026 — (New York) Today is the first day of the 2026 New York State Legislative Session. Jose Saldaña, Director of the Release Aging People in Prison Campaign (RAPP) and a survivor of 38 years in New York State prisons and a crime survivor, released the following statement:

PRESS RELEASE, December 30, 2025 — (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 RAPP and a survivor of 26 years in prison, released the following statement:

PRESS RELEASE, December 19, 2025 — ((New York) Today, Governor Kathy Hochul signed a prison oversight omnibus bill. Jose Saldaña, Director of the Release Aging People in Prison Campaign (RAPP) and a survivor of 38 years in New York State prisons, released the following statement...

HALTsolitary PRESS RELEASE, December 7, 2025 — (New York) It has been reported that officers at Attica C.F. beat up Michael Peacock to the point of having broken bones and threw him in solitary confinement under false “assault on staff” charges  for testifying against officers in the Robert Brooks murder case, and then refused to allow a reporter to visit him...

PRESS RELEASE, December 2, 2025, New York, N.Y. — Today, seven U.S. Congressmembers sent a letter to Governor Hochul, NY Senate Majority Leader Andrea Stewart-Cousins, and Assembly Speaker Carl Heastie urging enactment of the Fair & Timely Parole and Elder Parole bills. The letter, which was led by U.S. Rep. Nydia Velázquez and signed by U.S. Rep. George Latimer, U.S. Rep. Dan Goldman, U.S. Rep. Adriano Espaillat, U.S. Rep. Jerry Nadler, U.S. Rep. Yvette Clarke, and U.S. Rep. Grace Meng...

PRESS RELEASE, December 1, 2025, NEW YORK STATE — AMID A HUMANITARIAN CRISIS IN NEW YORK PRISONS, SPEAKERS DEMAND PASSAGE OF ELDER PAROLE AND FAIR & TIMELY PAROLE BILLS TO IMPROVE SAFETY FOR ALL, REUNITE FAMILIES, AND END PERMANENT PUNISHMENT 

PRESS RELEASE, November 18, 2025, NEW YORK, NY — Today, New York Governor Kathy Hochul announced plans to close Bare Hill prison, months after the state budget allowed for the expedited closure of three prisons. Jose Saldaña, Director of the Release Aging People in Prison Campaign (RAPP) and a survivor of 38 years in New York State prisons, released the following statement...