Requires unanimous agreement by the parole board to release an inmate on parole

Summary of provisions

Sections one and two of this bill amend Executive Law section 259(2)(a) to require that decisions of the Parole Board to grant parole to an inmate must be unanimous.

Section two provides that this act shall take effect immediately, provided that the amendments to paragraph (a) of subdivision 2 of section 259-i of the executive law made by section one of this act shall be subject to the expiration and reversion of such paragraph pursuant to section 74 of chapter 3 of the laws of 1995, as amended, when upon such date the provisions of section two of this act shall take effect.

Existing law

Currently, a majority of the Board is required for an inmate to be granted parole.

Justification

When it comes to making the critical determination whether to set someone free on parole, the Parole Board should seek unanimity. When an inmate who was convicted in the killing of a police officer is up for parole, the Board's decision to grant parole needs to be unanimous. In Spring 2013, the Parole Board is scheduled to decide whether Betsy Ramos should be paroled. Ramos was convicted in the death of NYPD Officer Anthony Mosomillo.

In 2012, the Appellate Division, Third Department heard two cases where the Board rescinded parole. In the case of Pablo Costello, who was convicted in the killing of NYPD Officer David Guttenberg, the Parole Board, with a 2-1 vote, granted Costello parole. When it was discovered that the victim's family had not been notified of the parole hearing or given the opportunity to make a victim impact statement in accordance with the law, the Board rescinded parole. Costello appealed and the Appellate Division upheld the rescission.

In 2010, the Parole Board voted 2-1 to grant parole to cop killer Shuaib Raheem. Raheem was involved in a botched armed robbery in Williamsburg, NY in 1973, which resulted in the death of Patrolman Stephen Gilroy and injured Patrolman Frank Carpentier. After pressure from some Senators and police organizations, cop killer John MacKenzie, who opened fire during a burglary in West Hempstead in 1975 and killed Nassau County Police Officer Matthew Giglio, was denied parole in 2010. He was denied parole again in 2012 and is eligible for parole in June 2014. Another convicted cop-killer Anthony Blanks was scheduled for a parole hearing at Shawangunk State Prison in Wallkill, NY. Blanks is a cold-blooded cop-killer and a dangerous criminal. He killed Patrolman Arthur Dematte in 1976 in Larchmont, using the policeman's own revolver, and then fled in his police cruiser. That

homicide left Patrolman Dematte's wife without a husband, his four young children without a father, and his fellow officers without a friend and partner. Each time Anthony Blanks is eligible for parole, the family is once again victimized and the Police Department relives this tragedy.

Legislative history

2011-2: S.1993 - Referred to Crime Victims, Crime and Corrections 2010: S.8259 - Referred to Rules

Fiscal implications

None

Effective date

This act shall take effect immediately, provided that the amendments to paragraph (a) of subdivision 2 of section 259-i of the executive law made by section one of this act shall be subject to the expiration and reversion of such paragraph pursuant to section 74 of chapter 3 of the laws of 1995, as amended, when upon such date the provisions of section two of this act shall take effect.