Brookdale offered testimony on December 7, 2022, at a joint hearing of the New York State Senate Committee on Crime Victims, Crime and Correction and the Senate Standing Committee on Judiciary. Brookdale’s director of strategic policy initiatives, christian gonzález-rivera, testified on behalf of executive director Ruth Finkelstein in support of the Elder Parole (S15A/A.3475A) and Fair and Timely Parole (S7514/A.4231A) bills. The two bills together would allow people over 55 who have served at least 15 years to be considered for parole.
The Albany Times-Union cited gonzález-rivera’s statement on the drastically reduced life expectancy of state prison inmates.
One in every four prisoners is an older adult. The physical and mental stresses of living in the prison environment have created a health crisis in the prison system, with prisoners in their 50s exhibiting sickness and disability at a rate equal to community-dwelling people in their 70s and 80s. Annual costs for imprisoning those over 55 range from $100,000 to $240,000 per year, compared with $60,000 per year for younger people. Yet there is virtually no public safety risk from people returning home at this age.
Brookdale’s testimony begins at 1:34:00 in the video below. The panel of aging adult advocates runs from 1:32:20 to 2:33:50.
The text of the testimony that was submitted is available here.
