Contact:
Tom Meara, TMeara@kivvet.com | (718) 309-3506
Yan Snead, ysnead@katalcenter.org | (518) 360- 1534
The Population on Rikers Island is Rising in One Category: Technical Parole Violations
A unique coalition – reformers, directly impacted people, prosecutors, and legislators – to join forces in support of Less Is More: Community Supervision Revocation Reform Act (S.1343A—Benjamin/Assm. Same-As # pending, Mosley)
These Proposed Reforms Would Make New York a Nationwide Leader on Reforming Our Broken Parole System
New York, NY: On Thursday, February 7th, 2019, a unique coalition of New York community groups, people impacted by parole technical violations, prosecutors and legislators will hold a press conference in support of the Less Is More: Community Supervision Revocation Reform Act (S.1343A—Benjamin/Assm. Same-As # pending, Mosley) to drive awareness to the bill and garner statewide support in the effort to get it passed into law.
WHAT: Press Conference in support of the Less is More Act
WHEN: Thursday, February 7th, 2019 at 11:00 a.m.
WHERE: Brooklyn Law School – Subotnick Center, 11th Floor – 250 Joralemon Street – Brooklyn
WHO: Community Groups, People Impacted by Parole Technical Revocations, Brooklyn DA Eric Gonzalez, bill sponsors Sen. Brian Benjamin and Assm. Walter Mosley, the Katal Center for Health, Equity, and Justice, Columbia Justice Lab, Unchained, JustLeadershipUSA, Fortune Society, representatives of the Lippman Commission, Former Corrections Officials, and more.
New York State leads the country, only second to Illinois, in re-incarcerating people for technical violations of parole, like missing a curfew. In NYC, there are over 720 people in Rikers today on technical violations of parole – a jump of more than 100 people from the end of 2018; this is the only population of people on Rikers that is increasing.
The Less is More Act– developed by directly impacted people, public safety officials, Katal Center for Health, Equity, and Justice, Unchained, and Columbia Justice Lab– is comprehensive new legislation that addresses the current problems of how technical violations in New York State’s parole system lead to re-incarceration. The reforms in the bill include: incentivizing good behavior and allowing New Yorkers to earn accelerated release from parole; requiring fair hearings; creating maximum terms of re-incarceration for violations and eliminating incarceration as a sanction for certain technical violations; and saving taxpayers money. The coalition calls on the Governor and Legislature to pass the bill, capture the savings that will result from reform, and reinvest those savings back into the communities most harmed by mass incarceration and crime.
To learn more about the Less Is More Act visit www.katalcenter.org/parole_and_probation_reform and read the #LessIsMoreNY factsheet.
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