My name is Ronald Dennis. I served 36 years in prison in New York State. Today I’m a Syracuse Community Leader with Release Aging People in Prison Campaign and a VOCAL-NY Leader. I applaud The New York State Department of Health and New York State Office for the Aging for coordinating a Master Plan for Aging for our state. However, I believe that if this Master Plan were to exclude older adults in prison, it would only serve to further entrench racism … and to continue the backwards tradition of ignoring the essential humanity of incarcerated people.
