A higher percentage of whites up for parole are released than people of color — and the gap appears to be widening — according to a new study from NYU Law School.
During the first four months of 2023, the state Parole Board released 45% of white prisoners who appeared before it, compared with 32.4% of all people of color who had hearings, researchers at NYU Law’s Center on Race, Inequality and the Law and the Vera Institute of Justice found.
In other words, people of color were roughly a third less likely to be released than white people, the study concluded. In 2022, the gap was smaller, with the board releasing 40% of white prisoners compared with 30% of people of color.
From 2016 to 2021, the disparity was even more narrow. The Parole Board released 33.4% of people of color compared with 40.3% of whites.
“Even amid a global reckoning with racial injustice and heightened attention to systemic racism across the country, New York’s Parole Board is going backwards,” said Jason Williamson, executive director of the Center on Race, Inequality and the Law.
“With disparities in release rates increasing substantially in the wake of a series of damning investigations, it’s clear that public pressure isn’t enough to curb the Parole Board’s discriminatory actions,” he added.
The publication of the study comes with a week left in the state legislative session. Bills to streamline the parole process and make it easier for older inmates to become eligible for release remain pending, with supporters hoping the Legislature will bring them to a vote.
The Fair and Timely Parole bill would require the board to consider what the person has accomplished in prison, how they have changed since their crime and their risk of reoffending.
The Elder Parole bill would offer a better chance for inmates 55 and older who have served at least 15 years in prison to be released, especially if they are ill.
“In order for us to achieve real equity around parole, the law must change,” Williamson said.
On Friday, state Attorney General Letitia James signaled her support for the Elder Parole bill.