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WEDNESDAY, August 19, 2020, 10:00 am • People’s Hearing on COVID-19 and Prisons and Jails • Press Release – hearing sponsored by Release Aging People in Prison Campaign, Parole Preparation Project, #HALTsolitary Campaign, FWD.us, and Center for Community Alternatives • View the recorded hearing HERE

Wednesday, July 29, 2020: STATEMENT: RAPP CAMPAIGN CALLS OUT AG WILLIAM BARR’S COMMENTS ON SENTENCING OLDER PEOPLE TO PRISON (See Barr’s comments via Twitter)

Friday, July 24, 2020: BREAKING: Advocates Demand Gov. Cuomo & NY State Lawmakers Take Immediate Action to Release Incarcerated People in Response to the Latest COVID-19 Death in the NY State Prison System

Thursday, July 23, 2020: FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: Advocates Slam Gov. Cuomo for Failing to Provide COVID-19 Testing Results to More Than 1,000 Incarcerated People

Tuesday, July 21, 2020, Justice Advocates Held Press Conference to End 24-Hour Demonstration in Albany Laying Body Bags on State Capitol Steps (Recorded Zoom link here)

Monday, July 20, 2020: FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: Justice Advocates Launch 24-Hour Demonstration at NY State Capitol to Demand Lawmakers Pass Prison Reform Bill Package (Recorded Zoom link here)

WEDNESDAY, July 8, 2020: Activists Respond to First COVID-19 Case at Gov. Cuomo’s New Prison Nursing Home at Adirondack Correctional Facility – Statement for Immediate Release

MONDAY, July 6, 2020: Local Activists and Criminal Justice Reform Advocates Host Press Conference at Adirondack CF Calling on Gov. Cuomo and State Legislative Leaders to Release Everyone From New Prison Nursing Home Press Release; WATCH recorded video here

THURSDAY, July 2, 2020: Amid Calls for Racial Justice and Defunding Police, Gov. Cuomo Plans to Roll Back Bail Reforms and Increase NY’s Incarcerated Population Press release (zoom recording HERE)

THURSDAY, June 25, 2020: RAPP Blasts Cuomo, NYSDOCCS Plan to Create Nursing Home Behind Bars, Endangering Lives of Older Incarcerated NY’ers

WEDNESDAY, June 17, 2020: Statement from Advocates: After Years of Pressure, Gov. Cuomo Grants Three Clemencies

TUESDAY, June 9, 2020: RAPP Campaign Responds to NYS Legislature’s Passage of Bill to Repeal 50A in Wake of Murder of George Floyd

FRIDAY, June 5, 2020: 176 Organizations Tell the NYS Legislature to Address the Devastation Visited on Black New Yorkers by State Violence of Prisons and Policing

WEDNESDAY, June 3, 2020: Advocates Respond to Brutal Death of Incarcerated Person at Metropolitan Detention Center

TUESDAY, June 2, 2020: In Wake of George Floyd Murder and Police Violence, Community Leaders Demand NY State Stand Against Racist State Violence Behind Bars • Press Release (Zoom for recorded press conference HERE; password: 8o^qLg.7)

SATURDAY, May 30, 2020: On Anniversary of First NYS Prison Death from COVID-19, NY Doctors and Medical Professionals Call on Gov. Cuomo to Grant Clemencies and Decarcerate NYS Prisons During Pandemic

WEDNESDAY, May 27, 2020: Hundreds of People From Across NYS Hold Virtual Advocacy Day to Demand the Legislature Pass HALT Solitary and Elder Parole Bills as Part of COVID-19 Response

MONDAY, MAY 25, 2020: NYS Grassroots Criminal Justice Community Calls on Legislature to Oppose New COVID-19 Prison Bill That Purports to Give Cuomo Admin Power it Already Has and Effectively Continues Months of Legislative Inaction

THURSDAY, May 21, 2020: As Legislature Plans to Reconvene, Advocates Held Virtually-Connected Rallies Outside Assembly and Senate Leaders’ Offices & Queensboro Correctional Facility Demanding New York’s COVID-19 Response Include People in Prison – Press Release

TUESDAY, May 19, 2020: As Legislature Plans to Reconvene, Advocates Demand Passage of Urgent Legislation to Help Prevent COVID Deaths and Suffering in Prison & Correct Longstanding Injustices Exacerbating the Pandemic

MONDAY, May 18, 2020: Ahead of NY State Legislative Hearing on COVID-19’s Impact on Communities of Color, Black and Latinx Community Leaders Hold Virtual Press Conference to Call Out Legislative Leaders for Excluding Mass Incarceration Issues and Demand the Legislature Reconvene to Pass Urgent, Life-Saving Measures – Media Advisory Watch recorded video HERE (password: 5F.56%K2)

THURSDAY, May 14, 2020: As New Data Show People of Color Account for 81% of Prison Deaths since COVID-19 Outbreak, Advocates Demand NYS Prison Director Annucci Testify at Legislative Hearing on COVID-19 and Communities of Color

WEDNESDAY, May 13, 2020: Media Advisory – Honoring Mother’s Day, Groups Rally at Bedford Hills CF to Demand Immediate Release of Women in NYS Prisons, Starting With Those Most Vulnerable to Death By COVID-19

WEDNESDAY, May 13, 2020: NYS Has Released Less Than One Half of One Percent of Incarcerated NY’ers; Advocates Demand Gov. Cuomo Grant Broad Clemencies

MONDAY, May 11, 2020: Gov. Cuomo’s Exclusionary Release Plan Effectively Sentences Some People to Death

THURSDAY, May 7, 2020: In Wake of More COVID-19 Deaths, Advocates Hold Two-Day Vigil Outside Fishkill CF and Burial Grounds • Media Advisory (Front page photo by Walter Hergt)

WEDNESDAY, May 6, 2020: Advocates Slam Gov. Cuomo for Forcing Incarcerated People to Make Hundreds of Thousands of Protective Masks They Can’t Wear; Call on Cuomo to Grant Broad Clemency and Take Other COVID Actions

TUESDAY, May 5, 2020 • Coalition Holds Media Briefing on COVID-19 in NYS Prisons • Fact v. Myths on Prison Conditions and Releases • Press Release

FRIDAY, May 1, 2020: Over 40 NYS Elected Officials Call on Gov. Cuomo to Immediately Release New Yorkers From Prisons During COVID-19 Pandemic

THURSDAY, April 30, 2020: Advocates Respond to First Death of an Incarcerated Woman in NYS Prison and Gov. Cuomo’s Plan to Release Some Pregnant Women

MONDAY, April 27, 2020: Two New Deaths in Fishkill Prison Due to Gov. Cuomo’s Disregard for the Lives of New Yorkers in Prison

WEDNESDAY, April 22, 2020: Governor Cuomo’s Continued Inaction Leads to 4th COVID Death at Sing Sing Prison (Press Statement)

TUESDAY, April 21, 2020: Advocates Rally Statewide Calling on Gov. Cuomo to Grant Mass Clemencies to Incarcerated New Yorkers Vulnerable to COVID-19 (PRESS RELEASE) – Rallies at State Prisons and Governor’s Mansion

SATURDAY, April 18, 2020: Advocates Slam Gov. Cuomo for Plan to Release Only a Select Few Incarcerated NY’ers during COVID-19 Pandemic (Media Statement)

TUESDAY, April 21, 2020: Advocates Hold Coordinated Statewide Day of Action at State Prisons and Governor’s Mansion Calling for Gov. Cuomo to Grant Mass Clemencies to Incarcerated New Yorkers Vulnerable to COVID-19 (Media Advisory)

THURSDAY, April 16, 2020: “People’s Briefing” Demands Gov. Cuomo Take Immediate Steps to Address Public Health Crisis Unfolding in State’s Jails, Prisons, and Detention Centers (Media Advisory) • WATCH the archived video HERE

TUESDAY, April 14, 2020: Advocates Slam Governor Cuomo for Playing God with Peoples’ Lives After He Releases a Select Few Incarcerated Older New Yorkers (See HERE for Cuomo release announcement via NY Post)

TUESDAY, April 14, 2020: Gov. Cuomo’s Inaction Leads to Death of 4th Incarcerated New Yorker

TUESDAY, April 14, 2020: Formerly Incarcerated & Other Advocates Rally at Queensboro CF to Demand Gov. Cuomo Free All Incarcerated New Yorkers Within One Year of Release Date • Media Advisory

Monday, April 13, 2020 • Another Incarcerated New Yorker Dies; Advocates and Community Leaders Unearth Prison Horrors, Call on Gov. Cuomo and NYS Board of Parole to Release Vulnerable People

Sunday, April 12, 2020 • COVID-19 Claims Another Incarcerated New Yorker; Advocates Demand Gov. Cuomo Grant Clemency Before More Die • COVID-19 Briefing

Saturday, April 11, 2020 • NY Prisons New COVID-19 Webpage Raises Serious Questions • Advocates’s Press Release • COVID-19 Briefing

Tuesday, April 7, 2020 • Advocates Call for Clemency as COVID-19 Numbers in State Prisons Hit Record Highs • COVID-19 Briefing

• Monday, April 6, 2020 • Status of the NYS Prisons and the need for Gov. Cuomo to Grant Clemency to elders and other incarcerated people vulnerable to coronavirus complications • COVID-19 Briefing,

More News & Statements from RAPP on the urgent need to release elders and other incarcerated people vulnerable to illness and death from the coronavirus

FRIDAY, APRIL 3, 2020, 12:00 pm • Press Conference outside Sing Sing CF in response to first incarcerated person’s death from COVID-19 • Demand Gov. Cuomo release all vulnerable people • PRESS RELEASE HERE
WATCH the video here

(photo courtesy Andrew Courtney)

MONDAY, March 30, 2020, 12:00 pm • Virtual Press Conference featuring families of incarcerated people, public health experts, and advocates calling on Governor Cuomo to act now as the COVID-19 crisis hits NYS prisons, endangering elders and other New Yorkers behind bars vulnerable to the virus. VIDEO HERE

March 30 Virtual Press Conference PRESS RELEASE HERE

Friday, March 27, 2020, 5:00 pm • Statement in response to Gov. Cuomo releasing 1,100 people convicted of parole violations

“Governor Cuomo is doing the right thing by bringing relief to 1,100 New Yorkers convicted of violating parole. We call on the governor to use this as the first step towards justice for far more incarcerated New Yorkers who are vulnerable to COVID-19. Thousands of elders and other New Yorkers with seriously compromised immune systems continue to languish in the governor’s prison system. The governor should grant them clemency now before it’s too late.”
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NEW! Releasing New Yorkers From Prison Is the Only Way to Save Lives in the Wake of COVID-19
Recommendations from RAPP and Parole Preparation Project (CLICK HERE for a two-page summary)

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Sign this petition:

Governor Cuomo Must Release Incarcerated Elders & Others Vulnerable to COVID-19

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March 19, 2020: NYC Mayor De Blasio announces the city has ID’d 40 people in NYC jails to be reviewed for possible release. RAPP and partners say: Inadequate

March 17, 2020: Response to news that a CO from Sing Sing (Ossining CF) tested positive for coronavirus, March 17, 2020: click here

March 11, 2020: Conference & Statement: Health experts and advocates call for release of incarcerated people vulnerable to COVID-19 • March 11, 2020. New York, NY

PRESS RELEASE: Wednesday, March 11, 2020

CONTACT: Dave George 631-885-3565 / ddgeorge23@gmail.com;
Nick Encalada-Malinowski 347-259-4835 / nick@vocal-ny.org

Livestream from press conference here

In Wake of Coronavirus Outbreak, Health Experts, Advocates and Elected Officials call on Gov. Cuomo to Release Incarcerated People Vulnerable to Virus

The Group Held a Press Conference to Call on Cuomo to Grant Emergency Clemencies to Older and Sick New Yorkers in Prison

Anthony Dixon, Director of the Community Engagement, the Parole Preparation Project

New York, NY – March 11, 2020 –Today, public health experts, elected officials, and advocacy organizations, including the Release Aging People in Prison Campaign, Parole Preparation Project, VOCAL-NY, Jim Owles Liberal Democratic Club, and Worth Rises held a press conference on the steps of New York City Hall in the wake of the Coronavirus outbreak. The group called on Governor Cuomo and the state legislature to take immediate action in support of incarcerated people and their families by granting clemencies to vulnerable people in prison, including older and sick incarcerated people.

The group also called on the legislature to take immediate action by passing Elder Parole (S.2144/A.9040) and the Fair and Timely Parole Act (S.497A/A.4346A), and to ensure that prison phone calls and visiting are accessible to people in prison and their families as the virus continues to spread. They also called for an end to prison labor exploitation and for the labor of incarcerated people to be fully compensated.

Jose Saldana, Director of the Release Aging People in Prison Campaign said, “Medical Reports are warning that the Coronavirus is potentially fatal for the elderly, especially those with chronic health conditions and compromised immunes systems. What will Governor Cuomo do to protect the lives of the more than 10,000 elderly men and women incarcerated in prisons across the state? Hopefully, he does more than they had done for the roughly 675 elderly men and women who have died in prisons across the state in the last nine years. We call on the governor to start the process of extending clemencies to the vulnerable elderly incarcerated men and women in state prisons, who are facing death during this serious time.”

Brooklyn District Attorney Eric Gonzalez said in a statement, “The spread of Coronavirus seems to be growing from concern to urgency and could become a full-blown health crisis in New York. There is a population that’s uniquely vulnerable that we need to remember: older and seriously ill people in our prisons. Once the virus spreads to our prisons, older incarcerated people and those with preexisting health problems will be in the virus’s crosshairs and the prisons will not have the capacity to care for them. Now would be a good time for Governor Cuomo to consider the clemency petitions of these vulnerable incarcerated people. My office stands ready to assist the governor in the consideration of these petitions for those from Brooklyn.”

Oliver Fein, M.D. and Chair of the Board for Physicians for National Health Program – NY Metro chapter said in a statement,“The threat of the Coronavirus pandemic is particularly high in prison settings. Prison environments are similar to nursing home environments, where residents are in close contact on a daily basis. Given the Kirkland, Washington experience, in which 18 residents of a nursing home have died from Coronavirus infection, it is reasonable to be concerned that the elderly and sickest populations in prisons are also at high risk. Release of such vulnerable incarcerated people is a moral imperative.“

Jack Beck, corrections health expert and former Director of the Prison Visiting Project at the Correctional Association of New York said, “It is just a matter of time before this virus enters New York State prisons and jails. When it does, it will inevitably spread. Prisons are not built to control and prevent the spread of viruses. We should take the affirmative step of releasing older people and others who are vulnerable to contract this virus when it begins to enter the prison system.

Allen Roskoff, President of the Jim Owles Liberal Democratic Club said, “Governor Cuomo must release the elderly and sick from prison to avoid a likely potential catastrophic outbreak that cannot be controlled behind prison walls. The governor must send the elderly home where they can be protected from illness before it is too late. If Governor Cuomo fails to act, needless deaths will occur to the incarcerated, prison staff and thus to those throughout New York. In this health emergency caused by the coronaries virus pandemic, these humane measures must be implemented with great haste.

Anthony Dixon, Director of Community Engagement for the Parole Preparation Project said, “Rather than release or issue executive clemencies to elderly incarcerated people with the stroke of the pen, so that millions of dollars can be added to his war chest for combating the coronavirus, the Governor is instead resorting to being a slave driver. Essentially, the governor is confronted with two crises, the coronavirus and a staggeringly 1 out of 5 people in New York state prisons being older adults. This crisis must be addressed.”

Bianca Tylek, Executive Director at Worth Rises said, “While our elders are languishing in prison under significant threat of a lethal illness, Governor Cuomo is gloating about having them mass produce hand sanitizer to protect the public all for as little as $0.26 per hour. The slave labor used in New York prisons is abhorrent every day, and even more so during a public health crisis. Governor Cuomo must release our elders and sick, and stop the abuse of prison labor by increasing incarcerated peoples’ wages.”

Martin Garcia, Community Coordinator at Worth Rises stated, “Governor Cuomo should take immediate action to make all communication in New York’s prisons free so that families can check on the health and wellbeing of their loved ones inside and vice versa. Crises like the Coronavirus pandemic simply illustrate why the ability for families to communicate is so important every day.”

Jessica Gonzalez-Rojas, Candidate for New York State Assembly (AD-34) said, “This is a compounding crisis, a crisis of incarcerating elders who will end up dying in prison if we don’t release them. The Coronavirus will impact the vulnerable lives of our elders and immune-compromised people in prison. We demand that the governor release elders and those who are immune-compromised immediately. Queens demands that we have them home with their family, so that they can be safe and healthy. For the long-term, we must pass the Elder Parole Act and Fair and Timely Parole Act. When I’m elected to the state legislature, I will be a champion for this issue.”

On Monday, March 10^th, Governor Cuomo announced that incarcerated people at Great Meadow Correctional Facility would produce hand sanitizer for New Yorkers across the state; a product they will likely be banned from using themselves. To date, Cuomo has not proposed or issued any orders to protect the health and well being of incarcerated New Yorkers who are particularly vulnerable to the virus.

Governor Cuomo has issued two clemencies to New Yorkers in prison in 2019 and 2020 combined, neither of which was given to older or sick incarcerated people. On February 18, 2020, President Trump issued four clemencies to people in federal prison, representing more commutations than Cuomo granted in the last two years. There are more than 10,000 older adults in the New York State prison system, including dozens who are confined in hospice units, units for the cognitively impaired, and regional medical units.

Jose Saldana, Director of the Release Aging People in Prison Campaign

January 8, 2021

Tell Gov. Cuomo: Release Aging People in Adirondack Prison

Gov. Cuomo must take immediate action and release all aging people at the Adirondack Correctional Facility. Add your name now to demand action.

Prisons are hotbeds for the ongoing spread of the coronavirus. In New York, incarcerated people are far more likely to contract the virus. We know incarcerated elders are particularly susceptible. And yet, Governor Andrew Cuomo and the State’s Department of Corrections and Community Supervision (DOCCS) have refused to release so many older people who could be safely released.

Instead, DOCCS created what is essentially a prison nursing home. In June, while COVID-19 was raging in NY State prisons, Cuomo’s prison system transferred incarcerated elders to Adirondack Correctional Facility — a youth facility converted, in haste, to warehouse some of the oldest and sickest New Yorkers in prison. Many entered Adirondack with serious health concerns, weren’t tested, and have been routinely denied access to basic medical attention. Governor Cuomo’s willful neglect of incarcerated elders is becoming all the more clear.

For months, our partners at Releasing Aging People in Prison (RAPP) have called on Governor Cuomo to exercise his clemency power during the COVID-19 outbreak and release as many people from jail and prison as possible, but he has taken NO meaningful action.

Here is the Petition:

We urge you to use your power as Governor to release all of our incarcerated elders being held at the Adirondack Correctional Facility. In the midst of the current COVID-19 crisis, you have continued to call on New Yorkers to stay home and practice social distancing of at least six feet. We know this is impossible for those behind bars. In New York, incarcerated people are more likely to contract COVID-19.

This is a life-threatening virus for all of us, particularly Black and Brown communities and seniors. Moving seniors to Adirondack is a recipe for disaster — and puts them at increased risk of contracting and transmitting coronavirus. If we don’t take immediate action, Adirondack could become another COVID hotspot. Lives are at risk.

Governor Cuomo, I am asking you to immediately release the most vulnerable people — all elderly people, ages 55 and older — from the Adirondack Correctional Facility.

Sign—and ask others to sign too—to demand that Gov. Cuomo takes immediate action to release all aging people at the Adirondack Correctional Facility.

November 20, 2019

One Year After Mujahid Farid’s Death, We Call for Fair & Timely Parole Act

One year ago today, the world lost a leader in the movement to end mass incarceration. Mujahid Farid died on November 20, 2018, at 69 years old, surrounded by his RAPP and Parole Preparation Project family in his apartment in the Bronx. Farid was a Co-Founder and former Director of RAPP and a trailblazer in the struggle to release older people from prison and end life imprisonment. He was our friend, family member, comrade, and so often our inspiration for doing this work. While we celebrate Farid’s life and continue to mourn over his death, we are also motivated by his personal struggle with long-term incarceration and his broader efforts to get others free as we continue our work for transformative reforms to the parole release process in New York State.

Release Aging People in Prison Campaign & Parole Preparation Project
Call for Fair & Timely Parole Act on One Year Anniversary of Mujahid Farid’s Death

Despite appearing before the Parole Board for the first time after receiving four college degrees, founding lifesaving in-prison programs, and having an overall prison record that exemplified transformation, the Board denied Farid parole release nine times over the course of 18 years. Instead of being released in his early-mid forties, Farid was finally released in his 60s after serving 33 years behind bars. In his short 7 years of life after his release, Farid and New Yorkers across the state helped make significant changes that led to more parole releases and reunited families. However, despite these significant gains, the very same issues that Farid faced before the Parole Board persist today.

Thousands of people in New York State prisons continue to languish behind bars years and decades beyond their minimum sentences. The Parole Board continues to deny parole to people who have transformed their lives and who could instantly become community leaders if only they had a chance at freedom. Everyday, people in New York State prisons are growing older, sick, and dying. This injustice must end once and for all. To that end, we call on the New York State legislature to pass the Fair & Timely Parole Act (S.497A/A.4346A) in the 2020 legislative session.

Fair & Timely Parole would ensure that the parole release process is New York State is based on who people are today, as opposed to just the nature of their crime of conviction. It provides for a fairer and more forward looking assessment of peoples’ current suitability for release and removes harmful language from state executive law that effectively allows the Parole Board to re-sentence people. We call on lawmakers in Albany to support and pass this bill as soon as they return to Albany on January 8^th as one of many ways to honor Farid’s legacy and promote justice in New York State.

Please join us on January 14th, 2020, to rally for passage of this bill and to honor Farid’s legacy.

Photo of Mujahid Farid by Michelle Lewin

October 24, 2019

Community Says: Pass Elder Parole—No Exclusions

To end death by incarceration in New York, more than 130 organizations wrote to the leaders of the NYS Legislature urging passage of the Elder Parole bill (S.2144). “A coalition of groups backing criminal justice law changes are urging state lawmakers to back a bill that would allow for the release of prison inmates who are age 55 or older and have served more than 15 years in prison,” wrote New York State of Politics on October 24.

October 25, 2019

Senator Majority Leader Andrea Stewart-Cousins
28 Wells Avenue, Building #3
Yonkers, NY 10701

Assembly Speaker Carl Heastie
1446 East Gun Hill Road
Bronx, NY 10469

Dear Majority Leader Stewart-Cousins and Speaker Heastie,

On August 13, 2019, Valerie Gaiter died in the custody of the New York State prison system of untreated cancer. She was 61 years old and had served nearly 40 years in prison on a 50-year-to-life sentence. At the time of her death, she had served more time than any other woman currently incarcerated in New York State.

During her time in prison, Ms. Gaiter worked hard to reckon with and repent for the irreparable harm she caused as a 21-year-old in Brooklyn in 1979. She earned multiple college degrees, ran the photography program in the Bedford Hills visiting room, and trained service dogs for wounded veterans. Despite her efforts to transform herself and those around her, she was never given a meaningful opportunity for release.

Ms. Gaither would not have been eligible for parole until her 71^st birthday, 10 years after her death. Sentences like hers are commonplace in New York State. There are currently more than 1,000 people serving life without parole or a virtual life sentence (a minimum of 50 or more years) who are all but guaranteed to die in prison. In fact, Ms. Gaiter is just one of at least 675 older people who have died in state custody since January 2011.

We, alongside Ms. Gaiter’s family and loved ones are devastated and outraged by her passing. We call on you to take action and commit to passing Elder Parole (S.2144) this legislative session.

Elder parole is a common sense, evidenced-based, and fiscally responsible way to save lives, reunite families and communities, and reinvest millions of taxpayer dollars into much needed public resources. The bill affords people in prison aged 55 and older who have served 15 or more years in prison an opportunity to go before the Parole Board. The bill does not automatically release people from prison, but instead allows the Board to determine whether or not an elder applicant is suitable for release. The bill offers hope and a second chance to those otherwise sentenced to die in prison.

Further, Elder Parole in New York State must include all older people who have already served decades in prison, regardless of their crime or sentence. Exclusions based solely on the nature of a person’s crime only promote notions of punishment and revenge, and offer no benefit to public safety. In fact, they hinder it. Returning elders are mentors and leaders in our communities and help us build the safe and nurturing world we want.

We the undersigned, who represent the broad and diverse statewide community advocating for an end to mass incarceration will not support any form of Elder Parole that offers hope only to some and a death sentence for others. We will not be complicit in the further loss of life behind bars and we ask you to join us in this effort. You must make New York a national leader for fairness and justice by passing Elder Parole in its current Senate form when you return to Albany in January. The lives of countless people depend on it.

Sincerely,

Advocates Delivering Love
Advocates for the Incarcerated at Fordham University Law School
Aging People in Prison Human Rights Campaign
Alabama-CURE
All Things Harlem
Alliance for Quality Education
American Friends Service Committee Prison Watch Program
American Friends Service Committee, New York
American Friends Service Committee, New Jersey
Amnesty International Brooklyn Local Group 27
Appellate Advocates Association of Legal Aid Attorneys, UAW Local 2325
Beacon Prison Action
Bend the Arc Jewish Action
Benedict Advisors LLC
Brooklyn Community Bail Fund
Brooklyn Defender Services
California Coalition for Women Prisoners
Californians United for a Responsible Budget
Campaign to End the New Jim Crow
Capital Area Against Mass Incarceration
Center For Community Alternatives
Center for Constitutional Rights
Center for Justice, Columbia University
Center on Race, Inequality, and the Law at NYU Law
Certain Days Collective
Citizen Action of New York
Citizens Against Recidivism
Citizens for Clean Water
Close Rosies
College & Community Fellowship
Colorado-CURE, Inc.
Columbia County Bail Fund
Communities in Partnership
Community Service Society of New York
Cornell Women’s Decarceration Practicum
Correctional Association of New York
Critical Resistance New York City
Discovery for Justice
Downstate Coalition for Crime Victims
Drug Policy Alliance
Equality for Flatbush (E4F)
Exodus Transitional Community Dutchess County
Exodus Transitional Community New York City
Families for Freedom
Felony Murder Elimination Project
Feminist Research on Violence – NYC
Fordham Law Advocates for the Incarcerated
Fordham Law School’s Criminal Defense Clinic
Fordham University
Greater New York Labor Religion Coalition
Hour Children
Human Rights Watch
Immigrant Defense Project
Incarcerated Nation Collective
Indivisible Brooklyn
Indivisible Harlem
Innocence Project
Interfaith Prison Partnership
Inwood Indivisible
Jewish Voice for Peace NYC
Jim Owles Liberal Democratic Club
John Brown Lives!
Justice and Unity for the Southern Tier (JUST)
Justice Roundtable
JustLeadershipUSA
Katal Center for Health, Equity and Justice
Labor-Religion Coalition of New York State
LatinoJustice PRLDEF
Law Enforcement Action Partnership
Legal Action Center
Legal Action Center Legal Aid Bureau of Buffalo
Legal Aid Society
LGBT Community Center of New York City
Life after release
Life for Pot
A Little Piece of Light
Make the Road New York
MEN TALK
MomsRising
Mount Lebanon Baptist Church
NAMI Huntington
National Lawyers Guild – NYC Chapter
New Hour for Women and Children LI
New Rochelle Against Racism/New RoAR
New York Campaign For Alternatives To Isolated Confinement
New York Civil Liberties Union (ACLU of New York)
New York County Defender Services
New York State Coalition Against Sexual Assault
New York State Council of Churches
No IDC NY
No New Jails NYC
NYC Books Through Bars
NYC Jericho Movement
NYU School of Law Prison Reform and Education Project
Parole Preparation Project
Physicians for a National Health Program – NY Metro
Prison Action Network
Release Aging People in Prison Campaign
Rise and Resist
Rise Up Kingston
Riverside Church Prison Ministry
Rockland United Sex Workers and Allies Network
Showing Up for Racial Justice NYC
Sisters of St. Dominic of Blauvelt, NY
Social Justice Committee, Unitarian Universalist Fellowship of Poughkeepsie
St. Stephen’s United Methodist Church
STARZ CLOSET
State Vs Us Magazine
STEPS to End Family Violence
The Bronx Defenders
The Bronx Freedom Fund
The Church of Gethsemane
The Fortune Society
The Osborne Association
The Sentencing Project
The Village Zendo
Time for Change Foundation
Tompkins County Showing Up for Racial Justice
Trans Prisoners Coalition
Truth Pharm, Inc.
United Neighborhood Houses of New York
United Voices of Cortland
Upper West Side Action
Uptown Progressive Action
Urban Justice Center
VOCAL-NY
WESPAC Foundation, Inc
Westchester for Change
Witness to Mass Incarceration
Women & Justice Project
Worth Rises
Youth Arts New York
Youth Represent

The bill passed the NYS Senate Committee on Crime Victims, Crime and Correction in April, 2019 (see photo below). Now it’s up the the leadership to move it as soon as the new session launches in January, 2020. Join us in Albany on January 14 to say, “Bring Them Home!” PASS ELDER PAROLE and END DEATH BY INCARCERATION in NYS.

June 19, 2019

Parole Justice Advances as Legislature Closes—But Not Far Enough

Statement to our Communities from the Release Aging People in Prison Campaign and Parole Preparation Project

• As the 2019 New York State legislative session ends, we’re reflecting on the progress we’ve made in the movement for parole justice, and the work that is still to come.

One of our primary goals this year was to fully staff the New York State Parole Board with commissioners who embrace notions of redemption and believe firmly in rehabilitation. We wanted a Board of 19 people from therapeutic and clinical backgrounds—social workers, mental health counselors and medical professionals. We wanted a Board of people who came from and had deep personal ties to communities most impacted by violence and incarceration.

This yearlong campaign culminated late Wednesday night after a long and contentious parole commissioner confirmation process. Last week, Governor Cuomo sent the names of six new parole board appointments to the State Senate for confirmation. The six nominees included a former prosecutor, a current and former parole officer, a nonprofit executive, a pastor and a former public defender.

Among the nominees, we had the most serious reservations about candidate Richard Kratzenberg, a former corrections officer and life-long Department of Corrections and Community Supervision (DOCCS) employee. According to public records, Kratzenberg was also formerly a registered Republican (now party unaffiliated) and predominantly lived in conservative, rural and suburban towns in upstate New York. Further, in his confirmation interviews with Senators, he repeatedly conveyed an archaic belief that a person’s crime of conviction—and not their record of rehabilitation or transformation—should be the primary factor when making parole release determinations.

In an unprecedented and historical moment, due to fierce opposition from the advocacy community and our legislative allies, Kratzenberg’s appointment was never brought to the Senate floor for a vote, ending his potential nomination. Five of the six appointed candidates were then confirmed by the Senate on the last day of the legislative session. These proceedings marked the longest and most substantive parole commissioner confirmation hearing to date.

Despite our success in ending Kratzenberg’s nomination, and the relief it brought, we were disturbed by the overall appointment process. Half of the candidates put forward by the Governor came from prosecutorial or law enforcement backgrounds, and very few had any professional experience in trauma-informed care or other therapeutic work. Where were the nurses, substance-abuse counselors and mental health professionals?

The Cuomo administration also shared no information on how they sourced candidates, how they conducted their interviews, their criteria for ultimate selection or the timing of appointments until after their appointments were final. Despite repeated promises made by the governor’s staff in meetings over the past year to share the names with advocates, the appointees were only publicly made available by the press, less than 24 hours before the first confirmation hearings. Advocates, currently and formerly incarcerated people and their families—those whose lives literally hang in the balance—had no opportunity to vet the candidates, speak with their references and determine their suitability for this powerful position.

While we are hopeful that some of the new commissioners share our values and will give people in a prison a fair and meaningful opportunity for release, we are devastated that we cannot with confidence say to our incarcerated loved ones that this new cohort brings with it real hope for the future and the possibility of freedom.

Despite these ongoing obstacles and resistance, we feel proud that as a result of our advocacy efforts, the decision over who may serve as a parole commissioner is now a public process. We have transformed lawmakers’ understanding of the significance of Parole Board appointments and parole release more broadly. We have taught our legislators and the broader public that transformation and redemption are the best guarantee of public safety, not punishment and indefinite confinement.

In the coming year, we will continue our push to change the composition of the Parole Board and its enduringly punitive culture. We will work to ensure that future commissioners share the values of redemption and transformation, and believe in the humanity of all people in prison. We will also hold current and newly appointed commissioners accountable for their actions on the Board, by demanding more transparency, data and training. We will struggle until all of our loved ones are home.

Beyond our efforts to staff the Parole Board, both our legislative initiatives—Fair and Timely Parole (S.497) and Elder Parole (S.2144)—were voted out of the Senate Crime and Assembly Correction Committees and sourced powerful community support. However, an intense wave of opposition from police unions and other conservative forces made legislative leadership waver, ultimately stalling the bills. Sadly, the state legislature did not pass a single piece of legislation this session to improve or expand the parole release process.

We are also devastated that the legislature would not pass Humane Alternatives to Long-term Confinement (HALT) (A.2500 / S.1623), despite the fact that the bill had ample votes and tremendous public support. The last-minute, closed-door deal brokered between legislative leadership and Governor Cuomo is a poor excuse for reform. It does little to curtail the use of solitary confinement, excluding local jails entirely, and leaving intact other forms of isolation frequently employed by DOCCS.

Without these critical bills, lawmakers guaranteed that more New Yorkers will age, despair, and die behind bars. This is unacceptable. Next session, legislators must come back to Albany with the will to pass these bills, bring parole justice to New York State and end the torture of solitary confinement. The lives of countless New Yorkers depend on it.

###

Here is the statement we sent out earlier this week, encouraging all to help prevent Kratzenberg from being appointed. Thank you to all who joined our effort:

Statement from Release Aging People in Prison Campaign and Parole Preparation Project Opposing the Confirmation of Richard Kratzenberg to the NYS Parole Board

Today, June 18 2019, the Senate Crime Victims, Crime and Correction Committee confirmed six new appointments put forward by Governor Cuomo for the New York State Parole Board.

Most concerning of the appointments is Richard Kratzenberg, a former corrections officer and long- time, in-prison parole officer. His entire 32-year career has been almost exclusively within the New York State Department of Corrections and Community Supervision, and there is no evidence he has community ties or personal or professional references outside of that setting. According to public records, Kratzenberg was also formerly a registered Republican (now party unaffiliated) and has predominantly lived in conservative, rural and suburban towns in upstate New York.

During this morning’s confirmation hearing, Kratzenberg cited both the nature of a person’s crime and their criminal record as two of the most important factors in parole release determinations. He spent little time discussing the role rehabilitation or personal transformation play in his assessments, and expressed strong support for current DOCCS programming, which many New Yorkers know is deeply inadequate. Further, Kratzenberg showed no nuanced understanding of the underlying causes of violence and crime, or the conditions and circumstances that often lead people to prison.

Undoubtedly, making determinations about a candidate’s suitability for this role on the Parole Board solely on the basis of their credentials and a short interview, is a dangerous thing to do. However, the timeline of events and the total lack of transparency in this nomination process leaves us no choice but to oppose the confirmation of Mr. Kratzenberg. Without any time to vet these candidates, we cannot in good conscience support the nomination of a person who has spent his entire career surveilling and supervising incarcerated people.

Mr. Kratzenberg is emblematic of parole in the Pataki-era, when commissioners came from primarily law enforcement and prosecutorial backgrounds, and the parole release process served as another mechanism to indefinitely punish people in prison. However, in the last eight years, parole has undergone dramatic reforms, resulting in fairer parole decisions, longer parole interviews and more hope. Kratzenbrg’s nomination jeopardizes that progress. If confirmed to the Parole Board, Mr. Kratzenberg would be appointed for a six-year term, longer than any other candidate appointed this year.

At the Senate Crime Committee meeting, Senators Myrie and Rivera voted against Mr. Kratzenberg’s appointment, and Senators Bailey and Gallivan voted without record. Mr. Kratzenberg’s nomination was narrowly voted out of the Crime Committee and referred to the Finance Committee for a second confirmation hearing.

If confirmed, Mr. Kratzenberg will have the power to deprive thousands of people of their freedom and to extend New York’s ugly, racist legacy of “tough-on-crime” policies and mass incarceration.

We urge members of the Finance Committee and the larger New York State Senate to vote no on his appointment.

###

February 8, 2018

A New Chapter in Parole for New York State?

An Amsterdam News article, “Exposing the New York State Parole Board,” has an encouraging ending
(see two UPDATES at end of article)

The Amsterdam News, June 8, 2017
by The Northeast Political Prisoner Coalition

(See updates at end of article)

Over the past several years, there has been a great deal of examination and public outcry about mass incarceration and its damaging impact on poor and working-class Black/Brown families and communities. What hasn’t had as much outcry or examination is the covert murkiness, impunity and absolute authority in which the New York State Parole Board and its recalcitrant commissioners operate as judge, jury and executioner over the lives of thousands of incarcerated individuals and their families.

The New York State Parole Board should, by law, comprise 19 commissioners, all appointed by the governor. The current Board has only 12 commissioners. The absence of the other seven has created a backlog and resulted in parole appearances that consist of a 10-minute video conference before a three-person panel. Three of the current commissioners are holdovers from the George Pataki administration, a Republican whose policy agenda favored locking people up for life.

For an incarcerated man or woman to be parole eligible, the individual must undergo a “risk and needs assessment” performance test. This test is a readiness instrument that measures who they are today, their prison record, educational, psychological and sociological accomplishments, and what, if any, risk the individual poses for committing a new crime if released. When applied justly and appropriately, the risk and needs assessment offers an incarcerated individual a fair shot at release. The practice, however, is anything but. Instead, parole commissioners routinely and perniciously ignore the risk and needs assessment findings, and rubber stamp the denial of 80 percent of those who appear based on the “nature of the crime” and a bias that their release “would so deprecate the law.”

Over the past approximately two decades, these repeated parole denials have caused a 98 percent increase in the number of people over the age of 50 incarcerated in the NYS prison system. These are people who have been in prison for 25 or more years, and who according to the state’s own research, are the least likely to engage in recidivism. They are persistently denied parole by a Board that continues to re-sentence them 10, 15 and, in some cases, 24 years past the sentence imposed on them by the judge. More often than not, a parole denial comes with a “two-year hit,” which means they cannot appear again for another two years. New legislation, already approved in the Senate, is now being proposed to extend the two-year hit to a five-year hit. Readers can object to such an extension by calling their elected representatives in the New York State Assembly.

For thousands of husbands and wives, fathers and mothers, grandmothers and grandfathers, aunties and uncles, sisters and brothers across this state, these encounters with the parole board turn an otherwise hopeful experience, full of the possibility of healing and renewal, into one of perpetual abuse, disappointment, separation, hopelessness, punishment and state violence.

How do we heal this trauma, violence and devastation inflicted on these families and communities by the mass incarceration and perpetual parole denial of their loved ones? We start by applying community and political pressure on Governor Cuomo to appoint commissioners who are educators, faith-based community leaders and social workers with an interest in reinvesting, rebuilding and rehabilitating the communities incarcerated people will return home to, and not the current practice of appointing current and former law enforcement (i.e., police officers, prosecutors or judges) personnel whose intent is to keep people in prison for life. We ask readers to petition Governor Cuomo not to reappoint commissioners James Ferguson, Kevin Ludlow, William Smith, Otis Cruse or Julie Smith. All of them have consistently demonstrated their refusal to follow the law and a blatant disregard for the communities in need of their loved ones return.

UPDATE #1

Wednesday, June 21, 2017

Of the five Commissioners whose terms expired this year only two were reappointed: Otis Cruse and William Smith. While we celebrate the fact that only two Commissioners were reappointed, it is unacceptable that the Governor and Senate re-appointed William Smith. Appointed by Gov Pataki, Smith has been on the Board for over 20 years and has a record of humiliating people and denying release to those who have served decades in prison, transformed their lives, and pose little or no risk to society.
Three Commissioners were NOT reappointed: Ferguson, Ludlow and Julie Smith. Ferguson and Ludlow were both Pataki appointees, and all three frequently disregarded the humanity of people in prison and violated the law.
Additionally, Parole Commissioner Lisa Elovich resigned from the Board, despite the fact that her term does not expire until 2019. Elovich was also a Pataki-era appointee. We believe as a result of your advocacy efforts and continued calls to the Governor’s office and legislature, she felt pressure to leave the Board. Now, only one Pataki-era appointee will remain on the Board by the end of the year.
Six new Parole Commissioners were appointed for the first time: Caryne Demosthenes, Carol Shapiro, Tana Agostini, Erik Berliner, Tyece Drake, and Charles Davis. While only time will tell whether these new appointees perform their duties correctly and justly, many of them more closely reflect the identities and experiences of people in prison, and come from a broader range of professional backgrounds.

OTHER VICTORIES

We defeated Lorraine’s Law (A2350A) in the Assembly (after it had passed the Senate as S2997-A): As many of you know, a devastating bill that increased the time between Parole Board hearings from 2 years to up to 5 years for people convicted of the most serious crimes had a lot of support in the legislature. However, as a result of your efforts, it was narrowly defeated.

Most importantly, we profoundly shaped the confirmation process of new Commissioners, exposed the many injustices and cronyism inherent in the process, educated our legislators about the impact of parole on our loved ones, and for the first time, garnered serious opposition on the Senate floor. In an unprecedented moment, Senators on the Crime Victims, Crime and Correction Committee that confirms the appointments, voiced strong opposition to the reappointment of William Smith. The opposition continued onto the larger Senate floor, where Senators dissented and 19 people ultimately voted NO on Smith’s reappointment! Although not enough to defeat his reappointment, such a public rejection of a long-standing Commissioner suggests a new and dramatic shift in parole policy. For example, watch this short video of Senator Gustavo Rivera’s speech to the Senate on the purpose and practice of parole.

UPDATE #2

On September 27, 2017, the new Board of Parole regulations became available. While still far from what justice and good governance demand, these regulations do categorize risk and needs assessments as a “guiding principle” for release decisions, rather than as one on a list of “factors” to be considered.

Along with the newly appointed commissioners, the new regs could allow more incarcerated people to win release on parole, as their records and achievements mandate. BUT: It will take continuing pressure from the community to ensure that the new regs and the new commissioners are not just window dressing to make a cruel, unforgiving, and unjust parole system look less ugly.

UPDATE #3

On March 13, 2018, a widely respected elder, Herman Bell, was granted parole, having met all the criteria for release according to his sentence. The parole commissioners recognized his progress after serving nearly 45 years in prison and granted his parole application. He is looking forward to being reunited with his family and friends. We welcome him home.

On March 19, 2018, responding to a solid week of attacks on the decision—and on Mr. Bell himself—by the Patrolmen’s Benevolent Association and other law enforcement organizations, the New York Times wrote this editorial in favor of Mr. Bell’s release:

Don’t Let Parole Become a Meaningless Concept
by the New York Times Editorial Board

Some felt Herman Bell deserved execution or at least a prison sentence of life without parole, but in mid-1970s New York those weren’t options. No question, Mr. Bell’s crime was a despicable assault on society itself. In 1971, with fellow Black Liberation Army radicals, he ambushed two police officers in Harlem, repeatedly and fatally shooting them as part of a war they had declared on the United States.

Rather than being condemned to prison forever, Mr. Bell got 25 years to life. Now, at 70, and after more than 44 years behind bars, he has been granted parole by a New York State board, which found he had expressed “regret and remorse.” Long in coming though the statement was, he is said to have told board members this month: “There was nothing political about the act, as much as I thought at the time. It was murder and horribly wrong.” In mid-April, he could be freed from his maximum-security prison in the Hudson Valley.

Despite angry reactions from law enforcement groups and others, the process worked as it should if parole is to amount to more than an empty word. Our prisons call themselves “correctional facilities.” The New York board found that Mr. Bell had indeed been corrected, based on a solid disciplinary record, a “sturdy network of supporters” and a likelihood of his now leading a “law-abiding life.” To lock him up forever even though deemed a changed man is to make a mockery of his sentence: “25 years to life” is not supposed to be cynical code for “life.”

Parole is understandably fraught in cases of slain police officers. Emotions run high, as does posturing by the politically powerful. In New York, a notable example involves two women who were part of a leftist band that killed two police officers and a guard during a bungled robbery of a Brink’s armored car in 1981.

Though plainly guilty of involvement in the crime, neither of the women, Kathy Boudin and Judith Clark, fired a shot. They both went on to become model prisoners who expressed remorse for their actions. Ms. Boudin was paroled in 2003. But the road to freedom has been rockier for Ms. Clark, denied parole once again last year despite having had her sentence commuted by Gov. Andrew Cuomo.

The Bell case is a reminder of how brutal New York could be in the early 1970s, an era of supercharged racial and political hostilities. Mr. Bell’s victims, Waverly Jones and Joseph Piagentini, were among 12 police officers in the city shot to death in 1971. In contrast, it has taken the past 13 years to record 12 officer deaths. (The New York City police, too, are now far more restrained, fatally shooting eight criminal suspects in a typical year, compared with the 1971 toll of 93.)

Officer Piagentini’s widow, Diane, remains implacably opposed to freeing Mr. Bell. The parole board’s decision, she said, “devalues the life of my brave husband” and “betrayed the trust” of police families. But relatives of Officer Jones have been more forgiving. In a 2014 interviewwith The Daily News, Waverly Jones Jr. said, “This man has been in prison for over 30 years and hasn’t gotten into so much as an argument.” To continue to lock him up, Mr. Jones said, “would only be for revenge.”

He’s right. And vengeance is not supposed to guide a system of justice.

Take Action to Help Keep Advancing Parole Justice

Come to our meetings and get involved: Email us to learn more about joining our campaign and attending meetings in your area.

NYC: Parole Justice NY has quarterly meetings in the city and monthly phone calls. Email mlewin12@gmail.com for more info.
Attend RAPP monthly coalition meetings (first Wednesday of every month)

Attend a meeting of Challenging Incarceration. To find out when and where, email nyrappcampaign@gmail.com.

Capitol Region: CAAMI (Capital Area Against Mass Incarceration) has a Parole Watch team who attend every public Parole Board meeting. CAAMI’s work also extends far beyond parole. Email nycaami@gmail.com for more info.

THANK YOU!

Again, we want to thank you all for your powerful and persistent efforts these past few weeks. We are entering a new moment in the movement for parole justice. We have the attention of our legislators and Governor and we have each other!

January 15, 2018

Join 160+ Groups to Support NY Parole Board Decision

From Legal Action Center (LAC.org):

The undersigned join in strong support of the recent determination by the Parole Board to grant release to Mr. Herman Bell. This decision is the right outcome in this case based on the criteria used to determine parole. We must not allow politics to undermine the rule of law, nor should we discourage an agency from correctly performing its duties by allowing it to be bullied or cowed by the loudest voices and those with their own agendas.

The Parole Board, acting as an independent body and critical component of our criminal justice system, is charged with deciding whether an individual is ready for release and reentry. For far too long, parole determinations have been based solely on the nature of an individual’s past criminal behavior, rather than on remorse, rehabilitation, and a plan for successful reentry. This backward-looking approach ran counter to the purpose of parole, the goal of a safer and more just society, and to the rehabilitative aims of our criminal justice system. The September 2017 regulations approved by the Parole Board, by including factors related to the individual’s readiness for successful reentry, represent a critical course correction. These changes are essential to undoing the system of perpetual punishment and mass incarceration.

The Parole Board made its determination regarding Mr. Bell’s release with consideration to his past crime, the wishes of the victims’ families, and the substantive evidence of his rehabilitation during his nearly 50 years of incarceration. The board also took into account Mr. Bell’s very low risk of recidivism and the support of a broad network of individuals and community organizations. It also recognized that Mr. Bell has taken responsibility for his actions and demonstrated remorse.

We applaud the Parole Board for implementing the new regulations in Mr. Bell’s case and for having the courage to move towards the kind of transformational criminal justice reform that is needed.

Organizations (click to add your organization or your name)

The Albany Social Justice Center, Inc
The City School, Inc.
The Correctional Association
The Distinguished Social Ventures Foundation
The Doe Fund
The FANG Collective
The Fortune Society
The Incarcerated Nation Corporation
The Legal Aid Society
The Real Cost of Prisons Project
The Sentencing Project
The Watershed Center
Abolitionist Law Center
Adalah-NY: Campaign for the Boycott of Israel
AFSC-Friend of a Friend
Alliance of Families for Justice
American Friends Service Committee
American Friends Service Committee Prison Watch
Anarchist Black Cross – NYC
Arab Resource & Organizing Center (AROC)
Bard Prison Initiative
Beacon Prison Action
Beyond the Box Initiative
Black & Pink
Black Lives Matter – Los Angeles
Black Lives Matter Brooklyn
Black Lives Matter Global Network
Bronx Defenders
Bronx Reentry Program
BronxConnect
Brooklyn Community Bail Fund
Brooklyn Defender Services
Brooklyn Law School National Lawyers Guild
Brownsville Think Tank Matters, Inc.
CADBI
Campaignetoendnewjimcrow-NY
Capital Area Against Mass Incarceration
Capital District Showing Up For Racial Justice
Center for Alternative Sentencing and Employment Services
Center for Community Alternatives
Center for Constitutional Rights
Center for Employment Opportunities
Center for Family Representation
Center for Justice at Columbia University
Center for Political Education
Center on Race, Inequality, and the Law at NYU School of Law
Central Vermont Showing Up for Racial Justice
Certain Days Collective
Chicago Torture Justice Memorials
Children’s Haven: A Place of Healing & Hope
Coalition For Parole Restoration
College and Community Fellowship
Common Fire Foundation
Common Justice
Community Service Society
Criminal Justice Caucus at Columbia School of Social Work
Critical Resistance
Diaspora Solidaria
EAC Network
End New Jim Crow Action Network (ENJAN)
End Solitary Santa Cruz County
Equality Equation
Exodus Transitional Community, Inc
Exponents, Inc.
Fellowship of Reconciliation USA
Freedom Archives
Freedom Food Alliance / Victory Bus Project
Freedom Socialist Party
Gangstas making Astronomical Community Changes Inc
Greenburger Center for Social and Criminal Justice
Group 73 of Amnesty International, Ithaca, NY
Haiti Action Committee
Harlem Restoration Project, Inc.
Harvard Law School National Lawyer’s Guild
Hour Children
Housing Works
HousingPlus Solutions
Incarcerated Workers’ Organizing Committee – NYC
Initiative for Incarcerated Survivors of Gender Violence
Institute of the Black World 21st Century
Interference Archive
International Action Center
International Leonard Peltier Defense Committee
Jewish Voice for Peace
Jewish Voice for Peace Western Mass
Jim Owles Liberal Democratic Club
John Brown Lives!
Justice and Unity for the Southern Tier (JUST)
JustLeadershipUSA
Katal Center for Health, Equity, and Justice
Labor-Religion Coalition of NYS
Law Firm of Siegel, Yee & Brunner
Legal Action Center
Legal Services for Prisoners With Children
Liberation Literacy
LifeLines Project
Linke Fligl
Lynne Stewart Organization
Man Up Inc. USA
Milk Not Jails
Mission High School
Mobilization for Justice, Inc.
Mott Haven Reformed Church
NAMI Huntington
National Action Network Second Chance
National Boricua Human Rights Network
National Jericho
National Lawyers Guild
National Lawyers Guild – New York City Chapter
Neighborhood Defender Service of Harlem
Neighbors Together
New Abolitionist Movement
New york Association of Psychiatric Rehabilitation Services Inc.
New York Campaign for Alternatives to Isolated Confinement (CAIC)
New York City Jericho Movement
New York Civil Liberties Union
New York State Prisoner Justice Network
Northeast Political Prisoner Coalition
NYC Books through Bars
NYC Free Peltier
Osborne Association
Parole Justice – Albany
Parole Preparation Project
Police Reform Organizing Project
Prison Action Network
Prisoner Hunger Strike Solidarity Coalition
Prisoner Reentry Institute at John Jay College
Prisoners Are People Too, inc.
Puerto Rico on the Map
Race for Re-Entry
Rehabilitation Through The Arts
Release Aging People in Prison (RAPP)
Religious society of Friends, Amawalk Meeting
Resistance in Brooklyn
Resource Information Help for the Disadvantaged and Disenfranchised
Reuniting Families Contra Costa
Rise & Shine Community Services, Inc.
rock steady farm & flowers
Rockland Coalition to End the New Jim Crow
Scuffletown Anti-Repression Committee
Showing Up for Racial Justice (SURJ) – NYC
Solidarity Research Center
Soul Fire Farm
ST. JAMES A.M.E. CHURCH
Struggle Committees Initiative
Students for Prison Education and Reform – Princeton University
SURJ Hudson
SURJ ROC (Showing Up for Racial Justice – Rochester
SURJ Westchester
Sylvia Rivera Law Project
TASC of the Captial District
Tightshift Laboring Cooperative
Trinity Lutheran Church, Rev. Samuel Cruz
University of San Francisco
Urban Justice Center
VOCAL-NY
Water Protector Legal Collective
WESPAC Foundation, Inc
West Town Law Office
White Pine Community Farm
Women and Justice Project
Women’s March
Women’s Prison Association
Youth Represent

Individuals; Elected Officials

Adrienne Hurley, Professor, McGill University
Albert Fermin
Alicia Garza, Co-founder, Black Lives Matter Global Network / principal, Black Futures Lab
Allison Guttu
Amaris
Amy Harlib
Anna Nathanson
Augustin Gonzalez
Betania Santos
Brad Hoylman, NYS Senate
Casper Burghgraeve
Chase Niesner
Colleen O’Connor
Connor
Curtis Austin, Associate Professor
Damaris Miller
Dan Quart, NYS Assemblymember
Dan Siegel, Civil Rights Attorney
Daniela Markowicz
Darren Mack, Social Justice Advocate
Darryl Nubyahn
Deborah Weissman
Dennis Derryck, Professor of Professional Practice
Diane Fujino
Donna M Accettulli
Dr. Libby Lewis, Pan African Studies Department, Assistant Professor
Dr. Stacey Ault
Five Mualimmak
Gene Washington
George Cammarota
George Guerci
Gregory Jean
Harriet Plewis
Heather Ann Thompson, Professor of History
Herb Sturz
Jane Alpert
Jared Ware
Joel van de Sande
Julie Ruben
Karen Palmer
Karen Shain
Kassandra Frederique
Katie Hammond
Kelsey De Avila
Kelsey Wright
Kevin Parker, NYS Senate
Kirsten Gill
Laura McTighe
Laura Whitehorn
Lisa Roth
Louise Kuhn
Luis Sepulveda, NYS Assemblyman
Lynne Karsten
Manuel la Fontaine
Mary Brey
Mary Patten, Professor, School of the Art Institute of Chicago
Matthew Kennedy
Mechthild Nagel, Professor of Philosophy, SUNY Cortland
Mic
Michelle Chen
Michelle Spark, The National Buddhist Prison Sangha, Senior Advisor
Nana Gyamfi, Adjunct Professor, Pan African Studies Department
Nando Rodriguez
Natacha Robert
Nathalie Cohen
Nicole Johnson
Nora Butler Burke
Pete White
Pirette McKamey
Professor Angela A. Allen-Bell
Professor Marsha Weissman, Adjunct Professor, Sociology, Maxwell School, Syracuse University
Professor Staci Mitchell
Professor Tony Thompson, NYU School of Law
Rev. Danilo LaChapel
Robin Kelley, Professor
Ruth Saxelby
Sam Bowman
Sara Black
Sarah Zeller-Berkman
Shabaka R Shakur
Shelley Lane
Shirene E
Sivan Amar
Sumayya Kassamali
Susan Horn
Susan Reverby, Emerita Professor
Susan Rosenberg
Susie Day
T’ai Rising-Moore
Tamika Graham, BPI TASC Teacher Fellow
Theresa Michell
Tiana Reid
Tim Barkert
Toni Hellmann
Valerie Forero
Vanda Seward
Victor Wallis
Zakia Henderson-Brown
Zoe Samudzi

If your organization wishes to be included as a signatory, please click here. We will continue to update this list.

January 11, 2018

Governor Cuomo Proposes “Geriatric Parole.” RAPP Responds.

The Release Aging People in Prison/RAPP Campaign believes that Governor Cuomo’s calls to reform New York’s criminal legal system are only a baby step in the right direction. While we acknowledge his proposal to expand medical parole for incarcerated older people with debilitating health conditions (his “geriatric parole” bill), his proposal has serious flaws. Medical parole is a rarely used, limited, and at times exclusionary program that has led far too many people who pose no risk to public safety to die in prison of illnesses that could otherwise be adequately and safely cared for in the community. The governor’s bill still excludes whole groups of incarcerated people only because of the crime for which they were convicted. While we hope that the governor’s proposal promotes the release of more older people, including those with chronic, hard-to-manage conditions, and is a catalyst for the expanded use of medical parole for all eligible people, it must be amended if it is to be truly effective—and just.

In addition, the governor’s proposal only affects sick people. While some incarcerated older people are sick, many others aren’t. Their wellness should not limit opportunities for release. Older people should not have to become ill in order to be considered worthy of returning home. People should be able to come home before they’re stricken with a debilitating illness. As the crisis of older people in prison continues to worsen and the population of older people has reached an all-time high of 10,337 people—more than 20 percent of the entire state prison population—much more is needed to end the mass incarceration of older people in New York.

RAPP believes that the Parole Board should presumptively release all parole-eligible older people, unless there is clear evidence that they pose a current risk to public safety. If the Parole Board is unwilling to do this on their own, then the governor and legislature should legislate this change. That is why we support and urge the legislature to pass Assembly Bill A7546, which would ensure that people who pose little if any risk to public safety be released on parole.

We also believe that older people who are not parole-eligible, serving prison terms that amount to death sentences, should be given a “second look”—an opportunity for parole consideration. Such sentences were draconian and flawed to begin with, and pose no benefits to public safety.So we urge the passage of an assembly bill that would give people who are 55 or older and have served at least 15 years a shot at parole.

RAPP’s priorities require political will from the governor and all branches of state government across the political spectrum. We hope that he listens to the statewide community of formerly incarcerated leaders, families, and concerned New Yorkers who seek peace and justice. Taking meaningful and expanded action to release older people in prison will prevent death, despair, aging, and illness behind bars, and under Governor Cuomo’s leadership, make New York a true leader in the struggle to end mass incarceration.

Cover photo by RAPP member Dan Rous

Join us to push for release of older people from New York prisons—a big step towards ending mass incarceration. See RAPPCampaign.com/about and RAPPCampaign.com/events for ways to get with us. Follow us on Twitter: @RAPPCampaign

November 2, 2017

New York Needs Elder Parole: Prison Healthcare Hearing

On Monday, October 30, 2017, Release Aging People in Prison/RAPP presented testimony at a legislative hearing on healthcare in the New York State prison system. Two New York Assembly Committees—Health and Correction—hosted the hearing, which was titled, “Healthcare in Department of Corrections and Community Supervision (DOCCS) prisons.”

RAPP was pleased as much of the day’s conversation focused on the increasingly urgent issue of older people in prison. This conversation began when Assembly Member David Weprin, Chair of the Correction Committee, asked DOCCS Acting Commissioner Anthony Annucci what he thought were the biggest barriers to healthcare in DOCCS. The Commissioner responded by saying that the aging prison population is the number one barrier to supporting the healthcare needs of those in custody.

Assembly Member Weprin also took the important step of asking the Commissioner the age at which he and the Department begin defining people as older. The Commissioner and his Chief Medical Officer both responded, age 55. Although RAPP defines incarcerated older people as those who are 50 and older, we agree with the Commissioner that people in prison age at a faster pace than those in healthier environments, and as a result have an internal, physiological clock that is 10-15 years accelerated.

Both RAPP and the Osborne Association spent nearly all of their presented testimony on the subject of incarcerated older people, and both publicly stated that older people should be presumptively released on parole. Throughout the hearing, Assembly Member Weprin indicated that he is interested in taking major steps to promote the release of incarcerated older people. He is currently the lead sponsor of several bills on the topic.

While RAPP believes that everyone in DOCCS custody should receive the healthcare they deserve and are constitutionally required to receive, we challenge the legislature to prioritize presumptively releasing older people aged 50 or older who have served at least 15 years in prison. Releasing older people who fit this criterion would save lives, reconnect families and communities, and reduce the high financial costs (both financial and moral) associated with keeping aging people in prison. It is time for New York State to champion policies that promote the release of our elders and save all of us from unneeded death and despair. —Dave George, RAPP

Watch Dave George’s testimony at the hearing

Read the testimony RAPP submitted to the hearing

Watch the entire hearing, where others—including David Weprin, chair of the Assembly Committee on Correction—spoke in favor of parole for older incarcerated people, and where DOCCS Acting Commissioner says that aging is the top challenge to prison healthcare in New York.

August 23, 2017

A Former Parole Commissioner on Aging & Changing

by Barbara Hanson Treen (NYS Parole Commissioner for 12 years)

We’ve heard for years that all the cells in our bodies regenerate every seven to ten years. Can we assume then, that our moral and emotional compasses are also capable of transforming over time? Not according to parole commissioners who keep large numbers of aging long-termers warehoused in prison, based only on what individuals did years ago, rather than who they are now.

In New York State, people of conscience are watching to see how six recent appointees to the Board of Parole will make release decisions. Will they respect transformation? It is too late for John MacKenzie, a model prisoner who died by suicide at the age of 70 after 40 years incarcerated and ten repeated parole denials. Tragically, John Mackenzie is the human sacrifice that underscores the broken parole system.

As a NYS Parole Commissioner for 12 years some time ago, it was unusual for me to meet a parole candidate over the age of 50. Last year, of 52,344 women and men in the state’s correctional facilities, 10,140 (19%) were 50 and older, despite the decline in the overall prison population. The number of elderly incarcerated has increased 98% since 2000, at least partially reflecting the board’s unwillingness to release in spite of parole applicants having met their minimum allowable sentence. Life on the back of a sentence appears to give a pass to the Commissioners, who have been unwilling to accept transformation in human behavior and are too politically motivated to practice their job, risk assessment. Thus we have prison hospitals and infirmaries filled with long-termers languishing through the years even though their risk of reoffending is 1%. And the health care costs for the prisons have increased 20 percent from three years ago to $380 million dollars today—an increase of $64.5 million.

If the parole board doesn’t trust in people’s transformation—supported by their proof of advanced education, program involvement, clean disciplinary records and so on—perhaps they’ll believe in new evidence that is also coming of age from a field of science through brain scan research: neuroplasticity. Simply stated, it is a scientific development that shows that the brain has the ability to change and heal as it is subjected to new experiences. Much is coming to light in the medical community about this study with implications of change for ADD and Parkinson’s Disease.

But as important in our criminal justice community is the possibility that people can become entirely different in their behaviors. This change occurs in the brain on its own physically with exposure to life’s surrounding stimulus over time. I would guess that 80% of 77,000 interviews I participated in as a commissioner were with people who suffered early life traumas such as sex abuse, violence, and concussions. Our older imprisoned have gained maturity, non-violent adaptive behaviors and more often the punishing effect of their crimes on them and their families, leading them to introspection over time. They become different people by demonstrating different responses.

The repeat parole hearings of candidates echo the retelling of the crimes that brought them to these places, crimes that are most often horrendous. And while the penalties for these crimes can never satisfy the need to restore a victim or render survivors of crime whole, the court-sanctioned sentence is our accepted legal calibration for punishment.

Can continuing denials amounting to 30 or 33 years beyond a sentence change the crime? Can 10, 13, 17 times before the board expressing redemption and remorse make a person any more prepared to face the community? No, it makes them older and sicker and some don’t even recall why they are there.

These aged are mostly invisible people. On paper, we don’t see their limps, their dementia, their physical impairments, their addled senses, their diminished capacities. They bring with them all the hope it takes to describe their transformation and regret to the parole board, although it will probably result in the same denial based on the “nature of the crime.” And the category of those aging, the women and men aged 50 and older, grows.

Perhaps the Parole Board can examine the possibility of the growth of their own hearts and brains among their new colleagues.

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(see two UPDATES at end of article)

UPDATE #1

UPDATE #2

UPDATE #3

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A Former Parole Commissioner on Aging & Changing

Attend our monthly meetings!

See Us on Social Media

CONTACT US

Blog Posts

Here is the Petition:

An Amsterdam News article, “Exposing the New York State Parole Board,” has an encouraging ending (see two UPDATES at end of article)

UPDATE #1

UPDATE #2

UPDATE #3

Attend our monthly meetings!

See Us on Social Media

CONTACT US

Blog Posts

An Amsterdam News article, “Exposing the New York State Parole Board,” has an encouraging ending
(see two UPDATES at end of article)