HARD TIME FOR PAROLE
Panel short-staffed, has biased pair who deserve ax – activists
The state Board of Parole is woefully understaffed, and two members who have deep political and police ties routinely reject prisoners without ever giving them a chance, a scathing new report by criminal justice activists charges.
Commissioner Walter William Smith Jr., a politically connected member of the board since 1996, consistently denies parole to prisoners convicted of violent crimes and is prone to losing his temper and mocking inmates seeking to convince him they've turned their lives around, says the report by Release Aging People in Prison and the Parole Preparation Project.
A second member, Commissioner Marc Coppola, meanwhile, arrives at hearings unprepared, often mixes up case files and fails to consider required aspects of a prisoner's life behind bars, the report says. During one hearing he belched loudly and frequently tries to rush prisoners as they recount their criminal histories and accomplishments behind bars, according to the report.
“The governor can and should dismiss these commissioners immediately and replace them with qualified candidates who better reflect the identities and experiences of people in prison,” the 31-page report reads.
The report comes as prisoner advocates and police unions — who rarely agree — are urging Gov. Cuomo to give the board a complete overhaul. Both groups want the state to add more staff to the board as well as depoliticize how members are selected.
Patrick Bailey, a parole board spokesman, slammed the report, saying it is filled with “false accusations.”
“Every day, hardworking staff help ensure board commissioners are provided the necessary information and tools to make fair, impartial decisions and the facts show that process is working,” Bailey said.
The board is currently staffed with only 12 out of 19 commissioners, who must handle an average of 12,000 cases each year. Each member is appointed by the governor and confirmed by the Senate for a six-year term. They earn an annual salary of $106,000.
The board has not been fully staffed since Cuomo took office, said Dave George, the associate director for the aging-inmate activist group. The state budget allocated money to pay only 16 parole commissioners this fiscal year, he added.
The board “is now facing staffing issues of catastrophic proportions, and continues to engage in unlawful, unethical and harmful behavior, despite repeated admonishments by the New York State judiciary and legislature,” the report says.
Cuomo spokeswoman Dani Lever responded that, “The statute allows for — does not mandate — the nomination and Senate confirmation of up to 19 members and the governor has maintained the same or higher levels as prior governors.”
The lack of staff has made it impossible for the board to thoroughly review cases, prisoner advocates say. In May, the board had to interview 70 prisoners in Fishkill Correctional Facility in one week. One prisoner there was interviewed at 6:30 p.m. and said the board was rushed to finish the talk and seemed impatient, according to the report.
“Such severe understaffing has led to myriad procedural problems, overworked
commissioners, higher caseloads, shorter parole interviews, and less time for individualized evaluations of parole applicant files,” the report says.
The staff shortage has also led to a major spike in twoperson parole panels, despite promises from the board’s chairman that the practice would end.
In one case cited by the report, a prisoner, listed as J.V., made his case before a twomember panel in February. But the board members were split, with one deciding to release and the other denying the parole request.
As for the controversial commissioners, Smith is the last Pataki-era appointee on the board. The report charges he has lasted so long due to his “repeated contributions to powerful legislators.”
He has donated $20,000 to state and national campaigns since 2000, records show. That includes $16,997 to state Sen. Patrick Gallivan over the past eight years. Gallivan (R-Erie County), a former parole board member, is chairman of the state’s Crime and Correction Committee.
“Accepting campaign contributions in exchange for political appointments, and then attempting to influence the decisions of those appointees who serve on an independent administrative agency is the definition of corruption,” the report says.
The GOP lawmaker has opposed granting parole to former Weather Underground member and convicted Brinks robber Judith Clark and cop killer Herman Bell.
Cuomo commuted Clark’s sentence in December 2016, making her eligible for parole, but the board denied her release in April 2017. She sued, and has been granted a new hearing.
Despite strenuous objections by the city’s police unions, Bell was released in April, after nearly 40 years in prison.
Smith still utilizes an antiquated, tough-on-crime approach that was in vogue when he was first appointed by Gov. Pataki, according to the report.
Prisoners said Smith would flip through parole packets “like a deck of cards,” “shrug sarcastically,” groan as inmates spoke, make a gesture with his hand implying “hurry it up” and give sideways glances to fellow commissioners, according to the report.
Cuomo reappointed him in 2017 over objections raised by prisoner supporters.
Reform advocates are also urging Gov. Cuomo to immediately toss board member Coppola for his “inappropriate” and “unprofessional” behavior during interviews.
As prisoners discuss their crimes and history behind bars, Coppola has belched loudly, slammed his hands down on the table, groaned and rushed the conversation, according to the report.