Elder Parole bill gains majority support in state Senate

Parole reform advocates have officially gained majority support in the state Senate for legislation that would give older incarcerated individuals a shot at parole. Though the milestone does not guarantee passage, it comes at a precarious time for state prisons as wildcat strikes by guards continue into a third week and nearly a dozen corrections officers were charged in the beating death of an inmate.

State Sen. April Baskin became the 31st co-sponsor of the Elder Parole legislation, which would permit incarcerated individuals aged 55 or older who have served at least 15 years of their sentence to apply for parole. The proposal would not grant anyone automatic parole, nor would it guarantee the conditional release, but it would allow older inmates to become parole eligible and compel the state Parole Board to interview the inmate. With 32 state senators (including prime sponsor state Sen. Brad Hoylman-Sigal) now supporting the legislation, the bill has the support of more than half of the 63-member chamber.

Hoylman-Sigal said in a statement that the majority sponsorship sends “a clear message” that the bill is ready for passage. First introduced in 2018, the bill has never before achieved this level of official support. The measure only made it out of the Crime Victims, Crime and Corrections Committee once in the state Senate, and it has never been put on the floor calendar for even the possibility of a vote. But showing that the bill technically has enough support to pass gives advocates fresh ammunition to push it forward. “I look forward to working with my colleagues to get this bill across the finish line this session,” Hoylman-Sigal said.

The Elder Parole legislation is one of several criminal justice reform bills that activists are advocating for with renewed urgency amid the ongoing turmoil in state prisons. “Particularly in the wake of guards lynching Robert Brooks, and the prospect of emboldened guards returning to the prisons after their illegal work stoppage, it’s urgent that we protect our elders from the racist brutality that’s endemic to this system,” said Jose Saldana, director of the Release Aging People in Prison Campaign. Brooks’ death at Marcy Correction Facility in December made headlines after the release of body camera footage that showed guards brutally beating him, sparking widespread outrage. So far, 10 corrections officers have been indicted on criminal charges ranging from murder to gang assault in connection with his death. There are now reports of another potential beating death at a nearby prison that state officials are looking into.

At the same time, guards at prisons around the state walked off the job just over two weeks ago and engaged in an illegal wildcat strike. The striking guards are demanding the repeal of the HALT law, which limits the use of solitary confinement in prisons. The guards claim that restricting their use of solitary confinement has put them in danger. The state Department of Corrections and Community Supervision has temporarily suspended some provisions of the HALT law due to the strike, but the state Legislature has made it clear that it has no interest in repealing the law. DOCCS and corrections officer union officials (who did not sanction the work stoppage) reached a tentative agreement last week to resolve the strike, many corrections officers have rejected the agreement and refused to return to work.

Far from supporting the repeal of the solitary confinement law, advocates and lawmakers have instead argued that the Legislature should pass parole reform bills to help reduce prison populations and help rehabilitated individuals return to society, easing the burden on the state’s prison infrastructure and staff.

State lawmakers have already passed one parole reform measure, which Gov. Kathy Hochul signed in 2021. But the other two proposals in the package – the Elder Parole bill and the Fair and Timely Parole bill – have languished in the Legislature since then. Even with the new majority support for the Elder Parole bill in the state Senate, getting additional criminal justice reforms both approved and signed this year will likely still prove to be a heavy lift as Hochul pushes rollbacks to the state’s discovery reform laws as part of the budget.