New York

New York Legislation Would Parole Certain Eligible Inmates At 55

What to Know

  • Democrats who control state Legislature want NY prison inmates eligible for parole once they reach 55 and have served 15 consecutive years
  • Measure doesn't mandate an inmate's release at 55 but would allow state parole board to evaluate whether older prisoner should be release
  • Republican lawmakers oppose the measures

Democrats who control the state Legislature want to make New York prison inmates eligible for parole once they reach 55 after serving 15 consecutive years.

The measure introduced in the Senate by Sen. Brad Hoylman, D-Manhattan, doesn't mandate an inmate's release at 55 but would allow the state parole board to evaluate whether an older prisoner should be released.

Hoylman introduced the bill a week before parole was granted Wednesday to 69-year-old Judith Clark, who has served more than 37 years for being the getaway driver in a 1981 armored truck robbery in Rockland County that left two police officers and a security guard dead.

A similar bill has been introduced in the Assembly by Assemblyman David Weprin, D-Queens.

Republican lawmakers oppose the measures.

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