NYS Seal

ASSEMBLY STANDING COMMITTEE ON CORRECTION

NOTICE OF PUBLIC HEARING

SUBJECT:
Board of Parole

PURPOSE:
To review procedures and statutory requirements of the New York State Board of Parole.

ALBANY, NY

Wednesday
December 4th, 2013
10:00 A.M.
Roosevelt Hearing Room C
Legislative Office Building, 2nd Floor
Albany, New York

Since 1930 the Board of Parole has been charged with determining which indeterminately sentenced inmates should be released from incarceration and returned to society. The responsibility is a serious one, with commissioners using discretion to balance the interests of public safety with the foundational principles of fairness and justice at the heart of sentencing and penal law. In the last fifteen years many changes in the law, including Rockefeller Drug Law reform, the introduction of shock incarceration and the adoption of determinate sentencing for certain offenders, have had an impact on the board's work load and functions. Coupled with a declining crime rate, the reforms have decreased the number of people appearing before the board, even as the methodology for considering each inmate's application for parole has been refined and modernized.

This hearing will focus on the implementation and effectiveness of the processes utilized by the Board of Parole in determining who should be released from prison and who should remain incarcerated.

Please see the reverse side for a list of subjects to which witnesses may direct their testimony, and for a description of the bills which will be discussed at the hearing.

Persons wishing to present pertinent testimony to the Committee at the above hearing should complete and return the enclosed reply form as soon as possible. It is important that the reply form be fully completed and returned so that persons may be notified in the event of emergency postponement or cancellation.

Oral testimony will be limited to FIVE (5) minutes' duration. In preparing the order of witnesses, the Committee will attempt to accommodate individual requests to speak at particular times in view of special circumstances. These requests should be made on the attached reply form or communicated to Committee staff as early as possible.

Ten copies of any prepared testimony should be submitted at the hearing registration desk. The Committee would appreciate advance receipt of prepared statements.

In order to further publicize these hearings, please inform interested parties and organizations of the Committee's interest in hearing testimony from all sources.

In order to meet the needs of those who may have a disability, the Assembly, in accordance with its policy of non-discrimination on the basis of disability, as well as the 1990 Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA), has made its facilities and services available to all individuals with disabilities. For individuals with disabilities, accommodations will be provided, upon reasonable request, to afford such individuals access and admission to Assembly facilities and activities.

ASSEMBLYMEMBER DANIEL O'DONNELL
Member of Assembly
Chairman
Committee on Correction



SELECTED ISSUES TO WHICH WITNESSES MAY DIRECT THEIR TESTIMONY:



PUBLIC HEARING REPLY FORM

Persons wishing to present testimony at the public hearing on the Board of Parole are requested to complete this reply form as soon as possible and mail, email or fax it to:

Dianna Goodwin
Associate Counsel
Assembly Committee on Correction
Room 513 - Capitol
Albany, New York 12248
Email: goodwind@assembly.state.ny.us
Phone: (518) 455-4313
Fax: (518) 455-3669
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I plan to attend the following public hearing on the Board of Parole to be conducted by the Assembly Committee on Correction on December 4th, 2013.
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I plan to make a public statement at the hearing. My statement will be limited to FIVE MINUTES, and I will answer any questions which may arise. I will provide 10 copies of my prepared statement.
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I will address my remarks to the following subjects:




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I do not plan to attend the above hearing.
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I would like to be added to the Committee's mailing list for notices and reports.
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I would like to be removed from the Committee's mailing list.
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I will require assistance and/or handicapped accessibility information. Please specify the type of assistance required:




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