Hochul springs an inmate from prison & pardons 9 others

Gov. Hochul announced Friday a round of pre-Christmas pardons, granting clemency to 10 people, including a man who has served more than three decades in prison.

Roger Cole, 55, was convicted in 1989 and 1992 of weapons and drug charges before earning a GED and an associate’s degree in jail, according to Hochul’s office. He will be released and rejoin his family in Jamaica, the office said.

The remaining pardons were issued to nine immigrants who are out of jail but may have faced deportation as a result of their convictions.

The New York Immigration Coalition, a nonprofit, tweeted that those New Yorkers would be able “to breathe a sigh of relief knowing they will not be separated from their families.”

But Hochul’s move to commute a single current prisoner in the state jail system dismayed criminal justice reform activists who have pushed for an acceleration of commutations.

Former Gov. Andrew Cuomo commuted 41 sentences over 10 years in office, including five in the final days of his administration.

He did not grant any commutations in his first four years in office, according to Hochul’s office, but issued 22 in his final two years.

The director of the Release Aging People in Prison Campaign, Jose Saldana, said that Hochul had “failed Black and Latinx communities.”

“Instead of talking about what she will do, we call on her to take real action now,” Saldana said.

Reform advocates held rallies in the fall to push Hochul to increase the clemency pace. They also argued for year-round pardons, and for the process not to hinge on late-year flurries.

Hochul’s office suggested Friday she intends to broaden the calendar for pardons, promising an increase in resources to allow for rolling reviews of applications.

“I am committed to increased transparency and accountability in this process going forward,” Hochul said. “No one should be defined by their worst mistake.”