Statement: #LessIsMoreNY Campaign Responds to NY Post Op-ed

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Tuesday, October 18th, 2022

Contact:

Yonah Zeitz, yonah@katalcenter.org | (347) 201-2768

Follow on Twitter @katalcenter #LessIsMoreNY

The #LessIsMoreNY Campaign Responds to Lies in Repulsive NY Post Op-ed 

Statement from gabriel sayegh, Co-Executive Director at Katal, on behalf of the #LessIsMoreNY Campaign: 

Today, the NY Post published an op-ed attacking both the Less Is More Act and leaders in the campaign that developed and passed the historic legislation. The lies in the NY Post article are despicable and too numerous to count and too outlandish to waste time repeating. But what else should we expect from the NY Post, a publication that is seemingly dedicated to stoking hysteria in the service of petty, harmful political objectives. We reject the Post’s racist fearmongering. 

What the Post refuses to print is the truth: the Less Is More Act is working to improve public safety while strengthening the reentry process. The law was drafted with input not only from directly impacted community members, families, researchers and defense attorneys, but also from public safety officials including current and former district attorneys, sheriffs, former correctional officials, and victim services and victim rights organizations from across New York.

Even when reform is supported by public safety officials and victim rights groups, if it doesn’t fit neatly into the Post’s apocalyptic view of the world and its racist and vile agenda, then it doesn’t count. As paid political operatives and the Post seek to stir voter anxieties ahead of the November election, we remain focused on ensuring the effective implementation of Less Is More, which has already helped tens of thousands of New Yorkers working on getting their lives back on track through the reentry process. 

We stand with the more than 300 community, faith-based and service organizations across New York, as well as with the eight district attorneys representing more than half the state’s population, who supported this campaign to make New York a fairer, more just, and safer state for all.”

Statements from former corrections officials and impacted people from the #LessIsMoreNY Coalition:

Vincent Schiraldi, Senior Fellow, Columbia Justice Lab, former Commissioner of NYC Departments of Probation and Correction: “Yesterday’s oped misses the point that incarcerating people for non-criminal, technical violations uproots people’s lives, makes failure on parole more likely and costs hundreds of millions of dollars annually. The governor and the campaign leaders should be applauded for the passage of Less Is More. Now we need to reinvest those savings into community supports to achieve more safety and success for people when they return home from prison, a win-win for all of us.”

Anthony, Member of the Katal Center, said: “I was completely horrified when I first read the NY Post op-ed on the Less Is More Act. It is a disgrace that they would publish an op-ed with no findings on the facts. The facts are that Less Is More has helped individuals like myself who are on parole get a piece of mind. I have been able to maintain my sobriety because I am not constantly worrying about being put behind bars for something as simple as being late for curfew. I feel a lot closer to a normal life. The vast majority of people who are on parole just want to return back to normal life and provide for their families. #LessIsMoreNY is here to stay!”

Alfredo Perez, Member of the Katal Center, said: “It was infuriating to read all the lies that the NY Post published on the Less Is More Act. They failed to include the thousands of stories of individuals that have been positively impacted by this piece of legislation. If you have never been on parole or have never had a loved one impacted by it, you will never truly understand the horrors that we go through. My experiences on parole have been the worst experiences of my life. I have been verbally abused by parole officers and sent to Rikers Island for a non-criminal technical parole violation. It was only thanks to the Less Is More Act that people on parole could finally breathe a little. Thanks to this legislation, parole officers cannot send you back to jail or prison for minor infractions of parole. In May of this year, I got the call that I was done with parole early because of Less Is More, and I nearly cried because I am now able to travel freely to experience the world. My family and I no longer need to worry about getting interrogated by parole for the smallest things. I will continue to fight to protect #LessIsMoreNY because our communities and families deserve it!”

Background:

For decades prior to the passage of Less Is More, people on parole would face frequent disruptions to their reentry process because the parole system focused more on punishment than support. New York imprisoned more people than any other state—at more than six times the national average—for non-criminal “technical violations” of parole rules, like missing an appointment with a parole officer, being late for curfew, or testing positive for alcohol, marijuana, or other drugs. Across the state, Black people were 5 times more likely and Latinx people 30 percent more likely to be reincarcerated for a technical parole violation than whites. This practice cost New York State taxpayers more than $680 million annually with no commensurate public safety gains.

#LessIsMoreNY is a statewide coalition of community groups, service providers, and public safety experts who worked together to enact the #LessIsMoreNY Act. The coalition is now working to implement the new law effectively. The #LessIsMoreNY campaign is led by the Katal Center and Unchained. For more information, visit www.lessismoreny.org.

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