Facts
A life term is a sentence with a minimum number of years and the possibility of lifetime imprisonment. A life sentence could be 20 years to life, or 25 years to life, or any other range ending in life.
Parole supervision lasts until the maximum term has been completed, so for Lifers until the end of their life or until Parole decides to release them from supervision.
Life terms can mean dying behind bars.
People convicted of drug trafficking amount to 16% of all Lifers
Most people, including prisoners, become markedly less violent as they grow older.
The United States inflicts the longest prison sentences of any country in the world.
It costs approximately $30,000 - 50,000 to keep an adult in prison. As the prisoner ages the figure goes up, because medical expenses increase.
Governor Pataki publically stated his desire to abolish parole altogether for violent offenders, who most often are Lifers. Many Parole Board members and some State Legislators still feel that way.
It costs NYS millions of dollars to keep in prison people who have proven their rehabilitation and their readiness to live productively in society.
Everyone is capable of transformation, and everyone deserves a second chance.
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
A typical story: When Joe was in his early 20’s, he killed two people in a drug related robbery. He was sentenced to twenty-five years to life. He has been a model prisoner for the past 20 years, 18 of which he has had outside clearance, which allows him unsupervised movement throughout the facilities’ grounds and in the nearby town five days a week. He has taken every behavioral, educational, and vocational program available in an effort to become a better person.
He has a devoted wife and two adult children who have visited him in prison for their entire lives. His wife’s employer has promised to interview him for a job. A former parole commissioner and the district attorney on his case have written letters to Parole in support of his release. Nevertheless, he has been denied parole release four times, each time for two years. The parole board acknowledges his positive achievements and support from the outside, but denies him release based solely on the nature of his crime.
His family go through cycles of hope and despair every two years. It is hard on all of them. They wonder if they should give up.
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Current Parole policies and our proposals for changing them:
Closed Circuit TV hearings
Parole Board hearings are increasingly taking place over closed circuit TV. It is dehumanizing for all parties and doesn’t create the trust needed for such significant discussions.
We propose face to face, in-person, videotaped parole hearings.
Decisions Based on Confidential Documents
The Parole Board has access to documents of which the parole applicant may not be aware. Some of them contain false information or are misfiled from another person’s folder. The parole applicant has no opportunity to correct errors or address information contained in confidential documents.
We say, “No secrets”: the parole applicant sees everything in his/her folder that the parole board sees (with one exception*).
Victims Can Only Speak About the Crime
Victim impact statements can only relate to the impact of the crime, which will never change, and not on whether they feel the parole applicant creates a present danger to them. They have no access to information which would indicate the present character of their offender.
The SAFE Parole Act allows the parole applicant to permit his/her victim to view his/her psychiatric evaluation, inmate status reports, and parole release plan to enable victim to make a statement based on who the offender is today.
Decisions Are Often Based Solely on the Crime
Many people convicted of violent crimes are commended by the Parole Board for their exemplary institutional record and preparedness for reentry, but denied release based solely on the nature of their crime (which has already been addressed by the judiciary).
The SAFE Parole Act does not include the nature of the crime as a basis for denial, since it can’t be changed.
Parole Denial Decisions Do Not Provide Steps the Parole Applicant Can Take to be Released
Parole decisions are frequently stated in boiler plate language without advising the applicant of steps to take to gain release in the future, leaving the applicant feeling helpless and hopeless.
The SAFE Parole Act says that parole denials must provide, in detail, the specific requirements for actions to be taken in order to qualify for parole release. When the parole applicant has successfully met the specified requirements a new hearing will be scheduled and release will be granted if good behavior has been maintained.
Programs Needed by the Applicant are Often Not Available
Programs needed by the applicant are often not available at the facility, like GED classes at some facilities, or higher education which is not available at all.
The bill requires that DOCCS must provide access to the necessary resources within a reasonable amount of time
