Parole reform aims to put a stop to a ‘culture of punishment’
With historic criminal justice reforms set to sweep across New York State in January, advocates and formerly incarcerated people gathered in lower Manhattan on Tuesday to call on the state legislature to pass two bills that would reform the state’s parole system.
The advocates — with Release Aging People in Prison and the Parole Preparation Project — demanded that New York lawmakers pass the Fair and Timely Parole bill as well as the Elder Parole bill. The first bill changes the standard of parole, centering release not on the original crime but on the person’s rehabilitation while incarcerated. The second bill would allow any 55 year-old who has served at least 15 years in prison to come before the parole board — no matter the length of their sentence.
“Men and women in New York State’s prison system are growing old, sick and dying because of the culture of punishment perpetuated by the New York State Parole Board,” said Jose Saldana, who served 38 years in prison for attempted murder and now runs the RAPP campaign. Saldana himself was recently released on parole .
“The Fair and Timely Parole would establish that [the Parole Board] must consider the person that is appearing before them today.”