"It's unfortunate that Senate Republicans are using a public hearing, such a critical legislative tool, as an obvious political ploy. This questionably timed hearing is clearly a stunt that will not be conducive to what should be our ultimate goal as legislators: to closely examine important issues affecting our State in an objective, non-partisan manner.
While there may be legitimate concerns around our State's current parole policies and the restoration of voting rights for New Yorkers on parole, the fact is that my Republican colleagues are rushing these hearings a mere four weeks before November's general election in their attempt to score cheap political points and mobilize their base of voters.
Furthermore, we cannot deny that one of the main goals of these hearings is to deepen the public's distrust against incarcerated and formerly incarcerated individuals, even after they have paid their debt to society, and have been rehabilitated.
In the meantime, I will continue to advocate for common sense measures, such as my bill to implement discretionary release as part of the parole process (S8346). If adopted, this bill would make a real difference in creating a fairer system, especially for low-income communities and people of color.
Without a doubt, the road to reforming our State's criminal justice system will be long and filled with obstacles. That is why we cannot allow elected representatives to play political games that undermine true efforts to improve the parole process for both victims and incarcerated individuals."
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