Ted Hausman, Supervising Attorney of The Legal Aid Society’s Criminal Appeals Bureau joined WNYC’s The Capitol Pressroom to discuss Andrew Cuomo’s legacy of granting clemency and to make the case for more commutations and pardons before the Governor leaves office.

Earlier this week, the Governor commuted the sentence of Legal Aid client George Martinez, but he still has over 30 applications for clemency from Legal Aid alone. Hausman urged Mr. Cuomo to make the most of his remaining days in office by granting relief to eligible New Yorkers.

“I think that the over 6,000 applications that he has on his desk are from individuals who have demonstrated they should be back with their families,” said Hausman.  “I think it’s an appropriate exercise of his power, I think it’s a power he should have used less sparingly.”

Hausman further noted that many of these individuals are medically vulnerable and are in controlled, congregate settings where they run an unacceptable risk of exposure to the COVID-19 Delta variant.

Listen to the full segment below.