Revolving door right INTO jail
Suit hits parole trap like Meek’s case
New York City residents account for about half of the state’s parolees.
The city Department of Probation says it has about 22,000 New Yorkers under its supervision at any given moment.
Both agencies say they decide case-by-case when to push for incarceration.
When someone breaks the rules, according to city Probation Commissioner Ana Bermudez, the big question is simple: “Does this person present a public safety concern?”
Bermudez noted that the Probation Department works hard to steer people toward better paths, connecting them with training and counseling.
Lorraine McEvilley, director of the Legal Aid Society’s Parole Revocation Defense Unit, says Mill’s case offers a “great illustration” of issues around postconviction supervision.
“That case is really endemic of how it’s just like a pathway back to incarceration,” she said.
According to McEvilley, 46% of the cases brought to her unit in the first 11 months of this year were based solely on technical violations such as breaking curfew, missing meetings with a parole officer and residency requirements.
Parole violations are the purview of an administrative law judge and require a lower standard of proof, she said. There’s also no opportunity for bail in the process, she noted.
“It’s like you’re presumed guilty until you can prove they are worthy to go back to society,” McEvilley said. “Why not try to work with that person to change the issues, rather than punish them?”