Time is now to reform parole system injustices
The Times Union Editorial Board is right on the mark (“Parole needs reform,” March 25). As a policymaker, I’ve learned about parole injustice through my constituents. The story of one of them demonstrates the problem.
In the late 1970s, Mujahid Farid was convicted of a serious crime, the attempted murder of a police officer, and sentenced to 15 years to life in prison. During his 15-year minimum term of incarceration, Farid acquired four college degrees and founded some of the most impactful in-prison programs in the history of New York prisons, including HIV peer counseling, ultimately saving countless lives. Put simply: Farid did everything he could have to transform his life and the lives of those around him.
However, after Farid served his minimum sentence, the Parole Board denied him release, based exclusively on the nature of his crime, despite the person he became. The board subsequently denied him release eight more times, adding 18 years to his minimum sentence for a total of 33 years in prison. Farid was finally released at his tenth Parole Board appearance and only lived six years as a free person, yet he became a respected community leader and pioneer in the fight for parole justice.
While Farid was a remarkable person, his story as a Black New Yorker to whom the Parole Board repeatedly and unfairly denied parole is sadly the norm. That is why my colleagues and I must reform parole by passing the Fair and Timely Parole and Elder Parole bills.
Gustavo Rivera New York City State Senator