NEW YORK (1010 WINS) — Nearly 200 inmates were set to be released from Rikers Island on Friday after Gov. Kathy Hochul signed a major prison reform bill in New York, she announced Friday.
Hochul signed the “Less is More Act” in the morning, shortly before a press conference in which she addressed the upcoming reforms. The bill passed through the Legislature in June, ahead of former Gov. Andrew Cuomo’s resignation.
Under the new law, parolees will not be sent back to prison for non-criminal violations of their parole. It also allows people accused of technical violation to bypass automatic jail time in a local prison, and instead they would face a written notice of violation with a date to appear in court.
A total of 191 inmates currently being held at Rikers Island for technical, non-criminal parole violations are now set to be released immediately, the governor announced.
“’The Less is More Act’ advances critical reforms to make our criminal justice a better and fairer institution,” Hochul said.
She stressed that the new law will keep non-violent offenders with their families and communities, as those currently at Rikers Island are likely to “spend more time waiting for their judication under that circumstance than actually the penalty would require.”
The governor added that keeping them behind bars does not "make us any safer," stressing that these parolees "weren't a danger in the first place."
As part of the new reforms, the governor also announced the New York State Department of Corrections will also start moving hundreds of prisoners from the city-run jails to state facilities in the coming weeks.
The "Less is More Act" will take effect next March, officially removing minor infractions, such as missing a curfew, as reasons to be put back behind bars.
The reforms also come as overcrowding and staffing issues continue to plague Rikers Island. Some city lawmakers have even described the situation as a "humanitarian crisis."
Mayor Bill de Blasio has also acknowledged the troubles and announced a series of emergency actions for the jail complex on Tuesday.
The plan set by the mayor included hiring more cleaning staff and emergency contractors to fix broken doors, speeding up intake processes to reduce overcrowding, expanding medical evaluation services, staffing NYPD in courtrooms to free up correction officers and punish missing staff with 30-day suspensions without pay.
Around 20 correction officers have already been suspended for skipping work, according to the NYC Department of Correction.