On May 10, 2022, Brookdale’s executive director, Dr. Ruth Finkelstein, and director of strategic policy initiatives, christian gonzález-rivera, joined a coalition of advocates in Albany to encourage legislators to make the parole system in New York fairer for people who have served long-term prison sentences.
The New York State Legislature’s session ended without the passage of two bills that would transform the lives of thousands of people who are 55 years and older and have spent more than 15 years of their lives in prison. These are people who have spent decades being denied parole despite getting college degrees while inside, despite being mentors and role models to others, and despite showing every sign that they are not the same people who committed crimes decades earlier. Statistics show that the recidivism rate for this population is almost zero. They should be out in the community serving as role models for young people. Instead, the state spends up to $250,000 per older person per year to keep them in prison.
This is not just a criminal justice issue; it is also a vital aging issue. People in prison experience accelerated aging. Health conditions that more typically affect people in their 70 and 80s on the outside affect people in prison in their 50s. State prisons are effectively becoming nursing homes, and without more meaningful opportunities for release, this problem will worsen, costing the state billions of dollars while keeping people separated from their families and communities. Older incarcerated people cost two to four times as much to incarcerate as younger people, largely due to increased health care needs. New York spends between $100,000 and $240,000 per older incarcerated person vs. $60,000 per year for a younger person.
Elder Parole (S.15A/A.3475A) and Fair and Timely Parole (S.7514/A.4231A) would expand parole eligibility for this group of older New Yorkers. The Elder Parole bill would allow people aged 55 or older who have already served 15 years in prison an opportunity to appear before the parole board for consideration of release. Many are already parole-eligible, yet face denial after denial based solely on the one thing they can never change: namely their crime of conviction. People are dying behind bars no matter how much they have done to improve themselves and regardless of whether they pose a risk to community safety. In New York, there are more than 1,100 people over the age of 55 who have served 15 years in prison and are not yet eligible for release.
The Fair and Timely Parole bill would make the parole process more fair, centering release determinations on who a person is today and whether they pose a risk to community safety. This is critical to ensuring that older adults and all people appearing before the parole board get a fair evaluation.
If passed, Elder Parole could result in nearly 2,000 fewer people in New York prisons by 2030 and allow the state to save $1.7 billion in 10 years ($170 million annually). If Fair & Timely Parole Act also passed, the two bills combined could save the state $5.22 billion in 10 years.
Brookdale met with elected officials in Albany in solidarity with People’s Campaign for Parole Justice and Release Aging People in Prison (RAPP). These two coalitions have been working for years on this issue.
