Clemency in New York State

http://www.nytimes.com/2016/09/05/opinion/clemency-in-new-york-state.html

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To the Editor:

Re “Jailing Old Folks Makes No Sense” (Op-Ed, Aug. 30):

New York’s parole board has a history of denying parole for even the most deserving people, and several current board members were reappointed by Gov. Andrew Cuomo, even though they opposed parole in virtually all cases.

The governor’s responsibility for the aging of the prison population extends beyond his appointments to the parole board. The New York Constitution gives the governor the power to grant clemency, yet in the last five years only three people have had their sentences commuted.

President Obama on Tuesday granted clemency to another 111 people, but the federal prison population is a small part of the 2.2 million people behind bars. The only way to remedy the past 40 years of mass incarceration is with a serious decarceration movement in the states.

STEVEN ZEIDMAN

Long Island City, Queens

The writer is a professor at the CUNY School of Law. He represents Judith Clark, 66, who is seeking clemency.