Inmate No More, Hochul Signs Legislation Changing the Term to “Incarcerated Individual”
Governor Kathy Hochul today signed a legislative package to promote greater fairness and restore dignity for individuals that have been affected by the criminal justice system. New legislation will help parolees maintain their jobs or pursue education and training opportunities by expanding the hours that parolees can attend required community supervision programs to non-working hours. Additionally, new legislation will reduce harmful stigma against incarcerated people by correcting outdated terminology used to refer to incarcerated individuals in state law.
“In New York, we’re doing everything in our power to show that justice and safety can go hand-in-hand,” Governor Hochul said. “We can make our streets and communities safer by giving justice-involved individuals the chance to complete their rehabilitation program and work at the same time. By treating all New Yorkers with dignity and respect, we can improve public safety while ensuring New Yorkers have a fair shot at a second chance.”
Legislation (A.6977A/S.643A) expands the hours that parolees can attend required community supervision programs to nonworking hours, which will help them maintain their jobs or continue their education programs. Parolees are often required to take substance abuse treatment and other rehabilitative programs during business hours, which makes it difficult for them to keep their jobs or attend educational or training courses. By better integrating community supervision programs into parolees’ education, training, or employment schedules, this legislation will allow them to prioritize both rehabilitative programs and educational opportunities.
Legislation (A.9273/S.8216) replaces instances of the word “inmate” in state law with “incarcerated individual”. Individuals impacted by the criminal justice system have long noted that terms such as felon, inmate, prisoner, and convict dehumanize individuals and perpetuate the idea that incarcerated people should be permanently demonized and stigmatized. This language change within state law will reduce stigma against people involved in the criminal justice system and therefore eliminate barriers to opportunities that they face. Previous legislation covered all instances of state law but did not cover active pieces of legislation in 2021 that were signed into law and included the term “inmate”.
