The Legal Aid Society today called on Governor Kathy Hochul to act on the many clemency applications (applications for both sentence commutations and pardons) that have been pending with her office, as reported by THE CITY.

Since becoming Governor earlier this year, Hochul has only used her clemency to commute a single individual’s sentence and she has granted pardons sparingly. Her predecessor, Governor Andrew Cuomo, rarely used his clemency powers, only ​commuting the sentences of a small percentage of New Yorkers who applied for relief. ​

Last December, Governor Hochul announced that her office would review clemency applications on a rolling basis to grant more deserving New Yorkers relief, but roughly a year later, this plan has failed to materialize.

Among the New Yorkers in need of relief is Legal Aid client Lesley Parfait, who was brought to the United States in 1975 at the age of five and became a legal permanent resident in 1995, but is facing mandatory deportation to Haiti based on a single, 16-year-old third-degree robbery conviction, a non-violent crime, committed during a difficult time when his family was facing dire circumstances.

Victor Clemente, a 68 year old client, has been in State custody for almost 15 years following a conviction in 2008. Up until this conviction, he had no criminal record whatsoever, and letters from his family, friends, and colleagues demonstrate that he was a dedicated and loving father and husband, an exceptional employee, and a valued friend.

“These New Yorkers, disproportionately people of color, are deserving of a second chance, and Governor Hochul should use her clemency powers to afford relief to the many people who are serving harsh sentences or who are living with the draconian consequences of past convictions,” said Ted Hausman, Supervising Attorney with the Criminal Appeals Bureau at The Legal Aid Society. “We hope that Governor Hochul departs from her predecessor’s practice, which afforded relief to such a small number of New Yorkers. She can and must use her broad commutation and pardon powers to reunite families and to keep families from being torn apart.”