PAROLE REFORM MOMENTUM: STATEMENT FROM NYUJ EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR ALEXANDER HORWITZ ON PAROLE REFORM DEAL AND INTRODUCTION OF FINAL “LESS IS MORE” ACT LEGISLATION
Last night, lawmakers in Albany introduced final legislation to enact the “Less is More” Act, a critical, commonsense reform that will begin fixing New York’s broken, biased, and expensive parole system. This legislation will help New Yorkers on parole successfully re-enter society by incentivizing compliance with the terms of parole, ensure New Yorkers on parole are not re-incarcerated for minor technical violations like missing a meeting, and provide New Yorkers on parole the right to an attorney and due process, including a speedy hearing, if they are suspected of violating the terms of their parole.
In response, Alexander Horwitz, Executive Director of New Yorkers United for Justice (NYUJ)—a bipartisan group of 14 national and local organizations—released the following statement:
“New York’s parole system is biased, broken, and expensive—costing over $683 million per year and needlessly destroying thousands of lives, all while doing nothing to make us safer. New Yorkers of every background overwhelmingly support reform, and we are encouraged to finally see action in Albany.
“We would not be here today without the work of so many advocates, directly impacted New Yorkers, and legislators like State Senator Brian Benjamin and Assemblymember Phara Souffrant Forrest, all of whom have worked tirelessly to pass this legislation into law. There are just three days until the legislative session ends, and New Yorkers are counting on their representatives in Albany to enact these commonsense reforms so New York can begin healing the wounds our unjust parole system has inflicted.”
