Parole disparities surge under Gov. Kathy Hochul, report says

November 15, 2024 Robert Abruzzese, Courthouse Editor

Gov. Kathy Hochul, under whose tenure, racial disparities in parole decisions have worsened, according to a new report from NYU Law. Photo: Frank Franklin/AP

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An NYU Law report found worsening racial disparities in parole decisions under Gov. Kathy Hochul, fueling calls for reform.

A recent report by NYU Law’s Center on Race, Inequality & the Law, titled “Freedom Delayed, Justice Denied: Increasing Racial Disparities in New York State’s Parole Release Decisions,” highlights significant racial disparities in parole release rates in New York State.

The analysis reveals that from 2022 to 2024, individuals of color were 32.28 percent less likely to be granted parole compared to their white counterparts, a notable increase from the 18.80 percent disparity observed between 2016 and 2021.

This trend coincides with Hochul’s tenure. The report estimates that if release rates for people of color matched those of white individuals, there would have been 3,656 additional parole grants since 2016, including 1,338 during Hochul’s administration.

The report advocates for legislative reforms to address these disparities, specifically supporting the Fair and Timely Parole Act (S.307-Salazar/A.162-Weprin) and the Elder Parole Bill (S.2423-Hoylman/A.2035-Davila). These proposed laws aim to focus parole decisions on an individual’s rehabilitation and current readiness for release, as well as to expand parole eligibility for older adults who have served at least 15 years.

“These disparate release rates demonstrate how the unacceptable racial bias in our state’s parole and prison system persists,” Sen. Julia Salazar, Chair of the NY Senate Crime Victims, Crime and Correction Committee and lead sponsor of the Fair & Timely Parole Act, said. “The purpose of our parole release system is supposed to be to evaluate a person’s readiness for release, not to perpetuate punishment. Parole determinations should be based on who a person is today and what they have done to transform. We must uproot racial bias from our state and system.”

Previous investigations have also documented racial disparities in New York’s parole system. In 2016, The New York Times reported significant differences in parole release rates between white individuals and people of color.

A 2020 analysis by the Times Union found that these disparities had widened over time. Research published in the Journal of Quantitative Criminology suggests that the New York Parole Board could increase release rates and eliminate racial inequality without compromising public safety.

Advocacy groups, including the NAACP-NYS and the National Action Network, have long supported the Fair & Timely Parole and Elder Parole bills.