Co-authored by Emily Napier Singeltary of Unchained, and gabriel sayegh of the Katal Center for Equity, Health, and Justice, on , behalf of the leadership team of the #LessIsMoreNY campaign. Published December 2022.
The report summarizes the first year of implementation of the Less Is More: Community Supervision Revocation Reform Act. The report highlights the reform’s successes, challenges with implementation so far, and recommendations to Governor Kathy Hochul and the state legislature for how to address those challenges.
After years of work by the statewide #LessIsMoreNY coalition – composed of more than 300 faith and organizations, District Attorneys, law enforcement, former corrections officials and more – the New York State Legislature passed the Less Is More Act in June 2021, and it was signed into law by the governor on September 17, 2021. By September 2022, all the provisions of Less Is More had taken effect. The law allows thousands of New Yorkers to live their lives without the constant threat and stress of being automatically incarcerated for noncriminal technical violations, like missing an appointment with a parole officer or being late for curfew. It prevents people on parole from being uprooted from their jobs, families, and lives for making minor mistakes that do not pose a threat to public safety. Rather than instant incarceration as was the previous practice, Less Is More requires the use of community based interventions to address noncriminal technical parole violations. It bolsters due process for people accused of parole violations, and provides earned-time credits for people who comply with the rules, so they can earn early discharge from parole.
Here’s the press release that was issued for the report, with quotes from key stakeholders.
Full report available below. I love the design here — hat tip to designer Erica Asinas.
