As 2023 draws to a close, 1,595 incarcerated New Yorkers have asked Gov. Kathy Hochul to grant them clemency, according to her spokesperson Maggie Halley.
Since taking office, Hochul has granted a handful of people incarcerated in state prisons the gift of freedom every December in a holiday tradition of sorts.
In 2021, Hochul promised to grant clemencies more than just once a year, but didn’t grant any extra during her first year in office, leaving advocates disappointed. She granted 10 clemencies on Christmas Eve in 2021, and this time last year, she granted clemency to 13 people out of more than 1,200 applicants.
She granted seven clemencies in April this year, followed by another 13 in September for a total of 43 during her term so far.
Still, advocates for incarcerated people say they’d like to see her do it more often – and not just over the winter holidays. They say the chance at freedom gives incarcerated people an incentive to behave well and rehabilitate themselves. They also cite research that shows older people are less likely to commit crimes.
“I’ve been disappointed with the scale of her clemency actions,” said Lawrence Hausman of the Legal Aid Society’s Criminal Appeals Bureau. “I just think that the governor’s pardon power, which is an awesome power, could really be used to address the history of over incarceration.”
Halley, Hochul’s spokesperson, said the governor has taken a number of steps while in office to make the clemency process easier and more transparent, including launching an updated online web portal to help applicants.
“While we cannot comment on pending clemency applications as the process is confidential, Gov. Hochul is committed to improving justice, fairness and safety in the criminal justice system, and we are reviewing applications in that context,” she said.
At a Dec. 4 rally for clemency outside Hochul’s Manhattan office, more than a dozen protesters called on the governor to use her clemency power more…
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