Compiled by Jim Ketcham, Co-Chair Criminal Justice Working Group
We are people of faith. We worship a God who “is gracious and merciful, slow to anger and abounding in steadfast love.” We believe in redemption and restoration. We believe that all people are children of God, regardless of their sins. We believe people can and do change through repentance and service to others.
Therefore, we support efforts to respect the dignity and rights of incarcerated individuals, such as those listed below.
While the changes we feared in the Raise the Age law and HALT did not come up, many efforts we supported in criminal justice reform were not passed until very late in the session -- if they ever got out of committee. The extended debate over the state budget again severely limited the time left for policy discussions. The fact that 2026 is an election year also led some Democratic leaders in the legislature (and the governor) to avoid promoting anything that some Republicans have been eager to label as “pro-criminal.”
Raise the Age was not challenged as we feared. Both the Governor and legislative leaders made it clear they did not want to alter anything based on claims by some politicians that there are too many youths committing violent crimes. Violent crimes by youth have dropped to 30-year lows. We insist that full programming be provided to youthful offenders, as the law is written. Too much of the funds provided for extra youth programs remain unused. Our coalition partners describe the law here: https://raisetheageny.org/
Here is a link to reasons not to rollback Raise the Age: https://raisetheageny.org/publication/?post_type=press_and_media&post_id=20162
HALT (Humane Alternatives to Long Term Solitary Confinement) was not changed, but corrections officers and DOCCS continue to seek changes, including a current (arguably illegal) agreement with the governor to suspend parts of this law. It has never been fully implemented, and DOCCS needs to find something other than solitary confinement (“Special Housing Units,” or SHU) to manage problem behavior. People should be linked to programs, not cut off from human interaction. Solitary confinement is far more likely to exacerbate mental illness and anti-social behavior than put incarcerated individuals on the path to wholeness and healing. Here is a good description of the controversy over HALT from Albany Law School: https://www.albanylaw.edu/government-law-center/explaining-the-halt-act
Governor Hochul signed the Criminal Justice Omnibus bill late last year. Chapter amendments include adding only 2 more members to the Commission on Corrections and leaving all appointments under the Governor’s control.
Governor Hochul again waited until the last minute to submit the nominations she is required to make for Senate consideration. Her initial proposal to nominate a couple of people with a reputation of being “tough on crime” was met with a firm “No” from Senate leadership, including Committee on Crime Victims, Crime and Correction Chair Julia Salazar and our coalition allies.
In response, Governor Hochul nominated a formerly incarcerated individual, Alexander Dockery. Dockery had served 23 years of a 25 year to life sentence before Governor Hochul issued him clemency in 2023.
The new law will still increase oversight of NY prisons and jails, change the size and composition of the State Commission of Corrections (SCOC), providing the Corrections Association of NY (CANY) increased access, tolling the statute of limitations for people to file claims for harm suffered in custody, and other measures. Now we need to see these changes are carried out.
County Civilian Complaint Review Boards: S8856/A9617, Salazar/Romero
Our coalition partners have been receiving many reports and complaints about brutality by corrections officers in county correctional facilities, about unsanitary conditions, denial of access to health care and to legal representation. Because sheriffs are independently elected, county boards cannot force changes in these practices. Sheriffs basically police themselves and nearly all complaints are dismissed as unfounded.
We continue to support this bill which would require the creation of civilian complaint review boards in every county in NYS. (The Omnibus bill could help with all county facilities, as well). This bill was referred to the Senate Committee on Local Government back in January. It died there. It also never came up for discussion in the Assembly Corrections Committee, a common result on our issues before that committee, perhaps due to Assembly leadership wanting to slow walk bills Republicans may consider “pro-criminal.”
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Here are the priorities of our other coalition allies that we supported:
Communities Not Cages Coalition (communitiesnotcagesny.org)
The Marvin Mayfield Act: S1209/A1297, Myrie/Meeks Never went anywhere in Codes Committees in the Senate and the Assembly. Mandatory minimum sentencing drives mass incarceration, strips judges of discretion, and grants outsized power to prosecutors to coerce guilty pleas. This bill would have eliminated mandatory minimum sentences, including New York’s two- and three-strike laws, allowing judges to consider the individual factors in a case. In doing so, the Marvin Mayfield Act would have helped undo the harms of the Rockefeller Drug Law era.
However, S8944/A10024, Myrie/Romero was passed by both houses on June 2nd and 4th, respectively. It allows courts to accept plea agreements that impose sentences below mandatory minimums in the case of two- and three-strikes laws. It will also remove arbitrary plea deal restrictions that currently prevent a person from pleading guilty to an offense more than one felony class below the charged indictment, both of which were part of the Marvin Mayfield Act. The bill now awaits the governor’s signature or veto.
The Second Look Act: S.158/A1283, Salazar/Walker Would have allowed judges to review and reconsider excessive sentences. Under current sentencing laws, incarcerated people have no opportunity to demonstrate to a judge that they have transformed while incarcerated or to seek a reconsideration of their sentences based on changes in law and norms. The Second Look Act would allow incarcerated people to apply for a resentencing hearing after they have served 10 years or half of their sentence. The Senate Codes Committee passed the bill in the final days of the session, over 5 months after receiving it. It was referred to the Crime Victims, Crime, and Criminal Justice Committee, which did not have time to consider it. Assembly version was referred to the Codes Committee in early January; no further action was taken.
Earned Time Act: S342/A1085, Cooney/Kelles Following the federal 1994 Crime Bill, New York State slashed programs for incarcerated people and dramatically limited the time people could earn off their sentences. The Earned Time Act would have strengthened and expanded “good time” and “merit time” laws to encourage personal transformation in prison and reunite families. “Good time” has often been arbitrarily erased due to minor infractions of prison rules. Senate version ping-ponged between Codes and Crime Victims, Crime and Corrections Committees. Crime Victims, Crime and Corrections voted (5 to 2) several times to pass this bill, but again there was no action in the Assembly Corrections Committee.
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We joined with RAPP (rappcampaign.com) Release Aging People in Prison in supporting the following:
Elder Parole (S.454/A.514) (Hoylman-Sigal/Davila) Would have provided incarcerated people aged 55 and older who have already served 15 or more years an opportunity for parole release consideration. This includes some of the state’s oldest and sickest incarcerated people. The Senate bill was referred to the Crime Victims, Crime and Corrections Committee. No further action. Assembly version was referred first to Corrections in early January, then to Codes late in April. No further action.
Fair and Timely Parole (S159/A127, Salazar/Weprin) Would have provided a more meaningful parole review process for incarcerated people who are already parole-eligible and ensure that people are evaluated for release based on who they are today, including their rehabilitation, personal transformation and their current risk of violating the law. All too often the Parole Board looks only at the original crime (the one thing that cannot be changed) and refuses parole. Senate Crime Victims, Crime and Corrections Committees voted 5-2 to support the bill twice, referred to the Finance Committee. No further action.
A Fully Staffed Parole Board The Parole Board must be staffed with 19 commissioners as the law allows and should be composed of people who share our values of redemption, transformation and mercy. Commissioners must reflect the identities of incarcerated people and come from professional and clinical backgrounds including social work, nursing, reentry services, and other fields that allow them to evaluate incarcerated people for who they are today. No further action.
See this article from Amsterdam News on parole reform “inching” toward approval: https://amsterdamnews.com/news/2026/05/28/parole-reform-inches-closer-as-proponents-push-lawmakers/
13thForward (13thForward.com) Named for the 13th amendment to the US Constitution which bans slave labor -- except as a form of punishment -- had the following priorities we also supported:
Prison Wage Act: S439B/A3596B, Myrie/Gibbs Would have guaranteed that incarcerated workers would be paid an hourly wage that is at least half the state minimum wage. Prison workers are currently paid pennies per hour. Senate Crime Victims, Crime and Correction passed 5-2, referred to Finance. No further action. Assembly version referred to Corrections, amended, referred back to Corrections. No further action.
No Slavery in NY Act: S7282/A7873, Myrie/Meeks Would have amended the New York Civil Rights Law to make clear that all forms of slavery, forced labor, and involuntary servitude are prohibited in the state, and would have amended the Correction Law to expressly prohibit the use of force, threats of force, and any other threats of punishment as means to compel the labor of incarcerated people.. Senate bill referred to Codes. No further action. Assembly bill referred to Corrections. No further action.
Fairness & Opportunity for Incarcerated Workers Act: S1208/A10626, Myrie/Cunningham Would have established a New York State prison labor board to ensure that all labor programs comply with the requirements of New York labor law and that work opportunities on the inside lead to real opportunities post-release; and would eliminate the preferred vendor status of Corcraft, the “industry” run by NY Dept of Corrections. The Senate referred to the Crime Victims, Crime and Correction Committee. No further action. Assembly referred to Corrections mid-May, no further action.
Corcraft has built almost all the furniture found in state offices, legislators’ offices, public schools, court houses and elsewhere. Because their labor costs are so low (pennies an hour), they can offer much lower prices to purchasing agents. But any skills learned working for Corcraft are unlikely to be used in the outside world as office furniture is made in only a very few locations in the US. There are also examples of incarcerated individuals learning advanced skills maintaining aging prison electric and plumbing systems, but they are unable to use those skills in the outside world due to every expensive licensing requirements. And there’s not much call for workers skilled at making license plates or traffic signs in the outside world!
Commissary Bill: S1692B/A2592B, Ramos/People-Stokes In a rare victory, this bill passed both houses at the very end of the session. The bill places a cap on commissary prices, allowing only a 3% increase in cost for items, and requiring other cost cutting measures to keep commissary prices from offsetting any wage increases for workers. Incarcerated individuals must buy their own personal care items and any extra food they need beyond the limited diet they are fed through the prison commissary. Prices there are much higher than prices in your local drug store or supermarket, and the selection is much smaller. The constant rise in prices and the limited selection of goods available in the commissary only contributes to the issues of contraband and black markets in NYS prisons.
Passed in the Senate, May 29, 36 to 22. The Senate version was passed in the Assembly June 1. Awaiting Governor Hochul’s decision.
