Permits emergency medical parole during a time of crisis to those that have a disability and who are at serious risk for death, disease or other harm due to an emergency disaster being declared provided such person has a reasonably stable living situation upon release and does not pose an unreasonable current public safety risk.
NEW YORK STATE ASSEMBLY MEMORANDUM IN SUPPORT OF LEGISLATION submitted in accordance with Assembly Rule III, Sec 1(f)
BILL NUMBER: A6483
SPONSOR: Weprin TITLE OF BILL:
An act to amend the executive law, in relation to permitting emergency
medical parole during a time of crisis
PURPOSE:
To authorize the board of parole to release certain prisoners in an
emergency.
SUMMARY OF PROVISIONS:
Section 1 adds a new section 259-T to the executive law. Section 2
provides an effective date.
JUSTIFICATION:
COVID-19 hits hardest in dense population centers or clusters where
people gather in close proximity. We have all been told to keep at least
six feet away from other people, to wash our hands, clean door knobs and
other hard surfaces that people touch with anti-viral cleaning agents,
work from home, avoid all non-essential human contact. None of this is
possible in prisons where nearly all movement is group movement, and
where people live in open dorms with as many as 60 beds or in tiny cells
with poor ventilation. Hundreds of correctional staff and prisoners have
contracted the virus and, • at the date of this writing, sixteen prison-
ers and four staff members have died. The prison population is on aver-
age older and sicker than the general population, so we can expect more
deaths than in the general population. The current medical parole stat-
utes do not permit the parole board to release vulnerable people during
a time of crisis. This bill, which would apply to any declared emergen-
cy situation in which lives were in danger, instructs the Board of
Parole to order medical parole release for vulnerable people with a
disability that makes them high risk for death, disease or harm due to
the emergency conditions, who have a home to go, and who do not pose an
unreasonable public safety risk. In the case of COVID-19, lowering the
density of the prisons would allow officers and prisoners to better deal
with the disease, to have more personal space, and to maintain order and
hygiene.
This bill would cut through red tape and would allow the decision to
release prisoners to rest with the Board, which has experience evaluat-
ing their dangerousness or suitability for release. Clearly if an indi-
vidual violates the conditions of his or her parole release, he or she
would be returned to prison.
This bill would allow the Board to release prisoners in order to save
the lives of the vulnerable and to reduce the prison population in order
to more efficiently and safely manage correctional facilities at a time
of crisis.
PRIOR LEGISLATIVE HISTORY:
New bill
FISCAL IMPLICATIONS:
Will save the state money by lowering the prison population and lowering
medical costs for incarcerated people.
LOCAL FISCAL IMPLICATIONS:
None.
EFFECTIVE DATE:
Immediately.
STATE OF NEW YORK
________________________________________________________________________
6483
2023-2024 Regular Sessions
IN ASSEMBLY
April 11, 2023
___________
Introduced by M. of A. WEPRIN -- read once and referred to the Committee
on Correction
AN ACT to amend the executive law, in relation to permitting emergency
medical parole during a time of crisis
The People of the State of New York, represented in Senate and Assem-bly, do enact as follows:
1 Section 1. The executive law is amended by adding a new section 259-u
2 to read as follows:
3 § 259-u. Emergency medical parole during a time of crisis. 1. During a
4 state disaster emergency, as defined in article two-B of this chapter
5 which places the lives, health or well-being of vulnerable people in
6 custody at risk, the board shall release to community supervision anyone
7 in custody who has a disability as defined in paragraph (a) of subdivi-
8 sion twenty-one of section two hundred ninety-two of this chapter and
9 who is at serious risk for death, disease or other harm due to such
10 emergency provided such person has a reasonably stable living situation
11 upon release and does not pose an unreasonable current public safety
12 risk.
13 2. Any individual released under these emergency circumstances shall
14 remain under community supervision, unless such supervision is revoked
15 pursuant to subdivision three of section two hundred fifty-nine-i of
16 this article, for the remainder of their sentence or until such time
17 that the commissioner decides it is appropriate to terminate such super-
18 vision pursuant to the limitations set forth in section two hundred five
19 of the correction law.
20 § 2. This act shall take effect immediately.
EXPLANATION--Matter in italics (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
[] is old law to be omitted.
LBD00267-01-3
