New York (1010 WINS) – Incarcerated people in New York state will no longer be referred to as “inmates.”
Gov. Andrew Cuomo on Monday signed legislation that bans the term “inmate” in state law after legislators and advocates called the language dehumanizing.
The bill, sponsored by State Sen. Gustavo Rivera and Assemblyman Jeff Aubry, was passed back in June with bipartisan support.
“Language matters. For far too long, people have thought of incarcerated individuals as less than people. The use of the word “inmate” dehumanizes and demoralizes people,” Rivera said in a statement. “I'm proud that this important bill has been signed by Governor Cuomo.”
The legislation comes as city and state lawmakers continue to push to reimagine its carceral systems with policies like bail reform and the closing of massive facilities like Rikers Island. The state Department of Corrections had already begun using alternatives to "inmate" in public statements.
Roughly 30,800 people are incarcerated in New York prisons, according to Vera Institute of Justice. That number has dropped over the years. And the coronavirus pandemic brought even steeper population declines after officials agreed to release certain incarcerated people to protect them from illness.
“Like I have said on multiple occasions,” Rivera continued, “our criminal justice system should focus more on rehabilitation and we should start by making sure our laws refer to people who are in our criminal justice system with compassion and respect.”
Advocates have also criticized words like “ex-offender,” “ex-convict” and “prisoner.”
"When we are not called mad dogs, animals, predators, offenders and other derogatory terms, we are referred to as inmates, convicts, prisoners and felons—all terms devoid of humanness which identify us as ‘things’ rather than as people,” wrote Eddie Ellis, a previously incarcerated advocate and founder of Center for NuLeadership on Human Justice & Healing, last year.