With the budget passed and solitary confinement restrictions signed into law, progressive Democrats in the state Senate and Assembly have their sights set on their next criminal justice goal this session: Parole reform.
Incarcerated New Yorkers, lawmakers and advocates rallied Monday and Tuesday as part of National Second Chance Month pushing the Legislature to enact parole reform, which could lead to the release of hundreds of incarcerated people in the stateâs prison system, with the passage of two proposed bills this session: The Fair & Timely Parole Act and Elder Parole.
âToday, we stand here with our hearts repeatedly broken in the face of racism in America,â Assemblywoman Carmen De La Rosa, D-Manhattan, said Tuesday. â. We know the disparities in our failed parole system in New York keeps our communities incarcerated. We know that Black and brown people are disproportionately denied parole. Make no mistake: Life without parole is a sentence to death behind
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Democrats can claim many firsts among the newly elected members of the state Legislature. Jabari Brisport of Brooklyn is the first openly gay Black man elected to the state Senate. Zohran Mamdani and Jenifer Rajkumar, both of Queens, are the first South Asian Americans elected to the Assembly. Fellow freshman Khaleel Anderson of Queens, 24, is the first member of Generation Z to serve in either chamber.
Two other Democratic firsts also loom large following the 2020 elections. State Sen. Samra Brouk of Rochester, who now holds the seat vacated by retiring GOP state Sen. Rich Funke, is the first Black female state senator elected upstate. Voters in an adjoining district chose state Sen. Jeremy Cooney, who now holds the seat formerly occupied by retiring GOP state Sen. Joseph Robach, as the first Asian American state senator from north of New York City.