The Legal Aid Society called on Albany to enact the Less Is More Act on the one-year anniversary of Legal Aid client Michael Tyson’s passing from COVID-19 while he was incarcerated at Rikers Island based upon a non-criminal technical parole violation for failing to report to his parole officer.

The Less Is More Act would streamline parole supervision by eliminating incarceration for most minor non-criminal violations, requiring prompt judicial review of parole violation charges, placing caps on revocation sanctions, and providing a path to earned discharge from supervision, as reported by the Queens Daily Eagle.

As of March 31, 2021, 294 New Yorkers were detained by the New York State Department of Corrections and Community Supervision (DOCCS) at Rikers Island on a technical parole violation. The Less Is More Act has the support of both public defenders and law enforcement alike.

“Thanks to New York’s antiquated and draconian parole laws, Mr. Tyson spent his final days confined to a cage, incarcerated on a non-criminal matter at Rikers Island,” said Tina Luongo, Attorney-in-Charge of the Criminal Defense Practice at The Legal Aid Society. “New York incarcerates people found to have committed technical parole violations more than any other state in the country, except for Illinois. It is time to end this practice in New York State.”