Establishes application processing and review requirements for reprieves, commutations and pardons by the governor; requires the governor to provide: a written notification that the application has been received; a receipt number that the applicant can then use to check on his or her application status; guidelines for supplementing the application with additional or updated information; and a notification when a decision is made on the application; requires quarterly reports to the legislature regarding reprieves, commutations and pardons.
NEW YORK STATE ASSEMBLY MEMORANDUM IN SUPPORT OF LEGISLATION submitted in accordance with Assembly Rule III, Sec 1(f)
BILL NUMBER: A155A
SPONSOR: Solages TITLE OF BILL:
An act to amend the executive law, in relation to establishing applica-
tion processing and review requirements for reprieves, commutations and
pardons
PURPOSE:
To establish more robust application processing and review requirements
for reprieves, commutations and pardons.
SUMMARY:
Section 1. Provides the title of the bill.
Section 2. Establishes the legislative findings and intent.
Section 3. Amends the executive law by adding section 15-a.
Section 4. Amends section 17 of the executive law.
Section 5. Sets the effective date.
JUSTIFICATION:
As the United States continues to aggressively deport and incarcerate
people at record rates, deportation and incarceration devastate not only
individuals, but the lives of entire families and communities. With the
highest incarceration rate in the world, the harms of the United States'
criminal legal and immigration systems ripple throughout whole communi-
ties, especially Black communities which are disproportionately targeted
by law enforcement. Deportation and incarceration lead to physical sepa-
ration and the destabilization of families and communities who are
already struggling due to systemic oppression. These harms are multi-
layered. For a family member who faces deportation, their income can
drop by as much as 48%, driving their family into financial instability,
poverty, and homelessness. In addition to financial harms, impacted
families often suffer from emotional and mental distress such as
depression and anxiety at higher rates. In particular, children experi-
ence immense emotional trauma as a result of a parent's deportation or
incarceration.
In New York State, families and communities are frequently torn apart
due to the federal government's overzealous criminal legal and immi-
gration regimes. While New York boasts as a progressive champion, as of
2021, our state incarcerated individuals at a higher rate than virtually
every other democratic nation on Earth.
One effective tool to mitigate the issue of a bloated, unjust carceral
system is executive clemency, which is grossly underused. Between 2017-
2020, the governor's office received 6,405 clemency applications but
only granted 81 pardons and 14 commutations. The clemency process is
convoluted, unequal, and difficult to navigate. Applicants have no way
to check the status of their application or expedite it in case of an
emergency. Meanwhile, an estimated 9,000 people, of which the overwhelm-
ing majority are people of color, are serving life sentences while an
unprecedented pandemic ravages prisons and detention centers. A stream-
lined, more holistic approach to granting clemency would begin to
address the systemic injustices of the immigration and criminal legal
systems.
This bill streamlines the clemency process and makes it more transparent
and accessible. By ensuring that the Governor provides notice at several
stages of the process, incarcerated individuals and families are no
longer left in the dark. Further, applicants can request an expedited
review of their application, so urgent needs are not left lingering for
years. Finally, this legislation will require the Governor to publish
quarterly clemency reports to ensure accountability. Through this legis-
lation, applicants will be given a stronger sense of procedural dignity,
and will have a greater chance of reuniting with their families who have
wrongfully been destroyed by an unjust immigration and carceral system.
RACIAL JUSTICE IMPACT:
People of color are disproportionately incarcerated. Despite accounting
for 32% of the United States' population, African Americans and Hispanic
people represent 56% of the United States' incarcerated population.
Further, African Americans are incarcerated at more than 5 times the
rate of white Americans. People of color also face disproportionately
longer and harsher sentences for similar crimes than white people. By
fixing a broken clemency process, Black and Brown incarcerated individ-
uals will have a more straightforward pathway to achieving relief from
an unjust system.
GENDER JUSTICE IMPACT:
The number of women in New York's prisons has increased more than four-
fold between 1978 and 2017. Women now make up almost one out of every
four jail admissions, and the compounding impact of gender and race is
exemplified by the fact that the rate of imprisonment for Black women is
twice that of white women. Further, women in prison are often not
provided the necessary care for pregnancy or other health issues, and
face increased sexual violence. This issue is amplified further for
non-binary or transgender incarcerated individuals who are often placed
in facilities that do not align with their gender, are vulnerable to
gender related violence, including from correctional officers, and
refused proper health and gender affirming care. Through this legis-
lation, women, and non-binary or transgender incarcerated individuals
will have a more clear and accountable system in which to achieve free-
dom from unfair convictions and sentences.
LEGISLATIVE HISTORY:
2021-22: A9145; referred to governmental operations.
FISCAL IMPLICATIONS:
TBD.
EFFECTIVE DATE:
This act shall take effect on the sixtieth day after it shall have
become a law and shall apply to applications for reprieves, commutations
and pardons received before, on or after the effective date of this act.
Effective immediately, the addition, amendment and/or repeal of any rule
or regulation necessary for the implementation of this act on its effec-
tive date are authorized to be made on or before such date.
STATE OF NEW YORK
________________________________________________________________________
155--A
2023-2024 Regular Sessions
IN ASSEMBLY(Prefiled)
January 4, 2023
___________
Introduced by M. of A. SOLAGES, MITAYNES, EPSTEIN, TAYLOR, GIBBS,
L. ROSENTHAL, WALKER, ANDERSON, REYES, CRUZ, MAMDANI, SIMON, JACKSON,
KELLES, AUBRY, GONZALEZ-ROJAS, FORREST, GALLAGHER, JACOBSON, HYNDMAN,
BURGOS, SHRESTHA, RAGA, MEEKS, BICHOTTE HERMELYN -- read once and
referred to the Committee on Governmental Operations -- recommitted to
the Committee on Governmental Operations in accordance with Assembly
Rule 3, sec. 2 -- committee discharged, bill amended, ordered
reprinted as amended and recommitted to said committee
AN ACT to amend the executive law, in relation to establishing applica-
tion processing and review requirements for reprieves, commutations
and pardons
The People of the State of New York, represented in Senate and Assem-bly, do enact as follows:
1 Section 1. Short title. This act shall be known and may be cited as
2 the "Clemency Justice Act".
3 § 2. Legislative findings and intent. The legislature hereby finds
4 that families and communities are frequently torn apart due to the
5 United States' overzealous legal system and immigration system, and that
6 one of the predominant tools to mitigate this issue, executive clemency,
7 is grossly underused. Between 2017-2020, the governor's office received
8 6,405 clemency applications while only granting 81 pardons and 14 commu-
9 tations. The legislature further finds that the clemency process is
10 convoluted, unequal, and difficult to navigate with no way for appli-
11 cants to check the status of their application or expedite it in case of
12 an emergency. Meanwhile, an estimated 9,000 people, of which the over-
13 whelming majority are people of color, are serving life sentences while
14 an unprecedented pandemic ravages prisons and detention centers. A
15 simpler, more holistic approach to granting clemency would begin to
16 address the systemic injustices of the immigration and criminal legal
17 systems.
EXPLANATION--Matter in italics (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
[] is old law to be omitted.
LBD00135-04-4
A. 155--A 2
1 § 3. The executive law is amended by adding a new section 15-a to read
2 as follows:
3 § 15-a. Process and requirements for considering applications and
4 requests for reprieves, commutations and pardons. 1. Upon receipt of an
5 application for a reprieve, commutation or pardon, the governor shall
6 provide to the applicant:
7 a. a written notification that the application has been received;
8 b. a receipt number that the applicant can then use to check on his or
9 her application status;
10 c. guidelines for supplementing the application with additional or
11 updated information; and
12 d. an electronic or written notification when a decision is made on
13 the application.
14 2. a. The application for a reprieve, commutation or pardon shall
15 include a section allowing applicants to describe an urgent need for the
16 reprieve, commutation or pardon. For the purposes of this section, an
17 "urgent need" shall include, but not be limited to, a pending deporta-
18 tion proceeding or final deportation order, humanitarian concerns,
19 health issues and the aging status of the applicant.
20 b. Applicants are permitted to update an application to indicate
21 urgent need due to changed circumstances following the initial
22 submission of the application.
23 3. The governor shall issue a decision on applications indicating
24 urgent need within ninety days from the date the application is
25 received. All other applications shall be granted or denied, or contin-
26 ued within one year from the date that the application is received. All
27 applicants shall receive written notification of any such action taken
28 on the application. Continued applications shall be left open to allow
29 applicants to submit further supporting materials according to guide-
30 lines provided to the applicant by the governor.
31 § 4. Section 17 of the executive law, as added by chapter 545 of the
32 laws of 1971, is amended to read as follows:
33 § 17. Governor to [communicate annually to legislature, reprieves,
34 commutations and pardons. He must annually communicate to the legisla-
35 ture, each case of reprieve, commutation or pardon; stating the name of
36 the convict, the crime of which he was convicted, the sentence and its
37 date, and the date of the commutation, pardon or reprieve] submit
38 reports to the legislature on a quarterly basis regarding reprieves,
39 commutations and pardons. 1. The governor shall submit a report to the
40 legislature on a quarterly basis regarding reprieves, commutations and
41 pardons.
42 2. Such report shall include:
43 a. The number of applications for reprieves, commutations and pardons
44 submitted pursuant to section fifteen-a of this article; and
45 b. If a reprieve, commutation or pardon was granted: (i) the date of
46 the commutation, pardon or reprieve; and (ii) the age, gender, race and
47 ethnicity of the approved applicant; or
48 c. If a reprieve, commutation or pardon was denied, the age, gender,
49 race and ethnicity of the denied applicant.
50 3. Such reports shall not include any personally identifiable informa-
51 tion about applicants.
52 4. The reports required by this section shall be published on a
53 publicly accessible website.
54 § 5. This act shall take effect on the sixtieth day after it shall
55 have become a law and shall apply to applications for reprieves, commu-
56 tations and pardons received before, on or after the effective date of
A. 155--A 3
1 this act. Effective immediately, the addition, amendment and/or repeal
2 of any rule or regulation necessary for the implementation of this act
3 on its effective date are authorized to be made on or before such date.
