S 1861: Requires the use of risk and needs assessments in parole decisions; provides a process permitting incarcerated individuals to correct verifiable factual mistakes or errors in their risk and needs assessments or other non-confidential documents given the board prior to their appearances.

  
  STATE OF NEW YORK ________________________________________________________________________ 1861 2025-2026 Regular Sessions  IN SENATE January 14, 2025 ___________ Introduced by Sen. MYRIE -- read twice and ordered printed, and when printed to be committed to the Committee on Crime Victims, Crime and Correction AN ACT to amend the executive law, in relation to the use of risk and needs principles in parole decisions The People of the State of New York, represented in Senate and Assem- bly, do enact as follows: 1 Section 1. Subdivision 4 of section 259-c of the executive law, as 2 amended by chapter 322 of the laws of 2021, is amended to read as 3 follows: 4 4. establish written procedures for its use in making parole decisions 5 as required by law. Such written procedures shall incorporate risk and 6 needs principles to measure the rehabilitation of persons appearing 7 before the board, the likelihood of success of such persons upon 8 release, and [assist] shall be used by members of the state board of 9 parole in determining which incarcerated individuals may be released to 10 parole supervision. Such principles shall provide the basis upon which 11 the board shall determine if there is a reasonable probability that, if 12 such incarcerated individual is released, such principle will live and 13 remain at liberty without violating the law. Procedures which incorpo- 14 rate risk and needs principles shall include, but shall not be limited 15 to, a risk and needs assessment prepared pursuant to section one hundred 16 twelve of the correction law or other validated risk and needs assess- 17 ment instrument adopted by the board to determine whether or not an 18 incarcerated individual is likely to re-offend upon release from incar- 19 ceration. Such risk and needs assessment shall comprise presumptive 20 evidence of the incarcerated individual's risk of re-offense. Should the 21 board choose to override such risk and needs assessment in deciding 22 whether or not an incarcerated individual will live and remain at liber- 23 ty without violating the law, its decision must provide a detailed, 24 individualized and nonconclusory statement as to its reasons for depart- EXPLANATION--Matter in italics (underscored) is new; matter in brackets [ ] is old law to be omitted. LBD05409-01-5 
 S. 1861 2 1 ing from the risk and needs assessment findings which shall be subject 2 to judicial review. Such override decision shall not be based solely on 3 information relating to the instant offense and/or the pre-sentencing 4 report for such offense. Pursuant to subdivision eleven of this section, 5 the board shall amend the rules and regulations for the conduct of its 6 work to reflect the procedures established by this subdivision; 7 § 2. Section 259-e of the executive law, as amended by chapter 322 of 8 the laws of 2021, is amended to read as follows: 9 § 259-e. Institutional parole services. 1. The department shall 10 provide institutional parole services. Such services shall include prep- 11 aration of risk and needs assessments, reports and other data required 12 by the state board of parole in the exercise of its functions with 13 respect to release on presumptive release, parole, conditional release 14 or post-release supervision of incarcerated individuals. Additionally, 15 the department shall determine which incarcerated individuals are in 16 need of a deaf language interpreter or an English language interpreter, 17 and shall inform the board of such need within a reasonable period of 18 time prior to an incarcerated individual's scheduled appearance before 19 the board. Employees of the department who collect data, interview 20 incarcerated individuals and prepare reports for the state board of 21 parole in institutions under the jurisdiction of the department shall 22 work under the direct supervision of the deputy commissioner of the 23 department in charge of program services. Data and reports submitted to 24 the board shall address the statutory factors to be considered by the 25 board pursuant to the relevant provisions of section two hundred fifty- 26 nine-i of this article. 27 2. Two months prior to a parole board appearance, an incarcerated 28 individual shall be permitted to review such individual's risk and needs 29 assessment, reports and any other non-confidential documents to be given 30 to the board with the department employee charged with preparing such 31 assessment, reports and documents, and may ask for any such assessment, 32 report or document prepared by the department to be corrected if it 33 contains factual mistakes or other errors. The department shall imme- 34 diately review the incarcerated individual's records and any evidence 35 offered in support of the incarcerated individual's contention that 36 there is a factual mistake or other error in such individual's records. 37 Upon confirmation that such mistake or error has been made, the depart- 38 ment shall immediately correct such mistake or error prior to submitting 39 such assessment, record or document to the board. If the department 40 decides not to correct an alleged mistake or error, the incarcerated 41 individual shall be notified of such individual's right to submit 42 evidence about any uncorrected mistake or uncorrected error to the board 43 and may appeal the decision within fifteen days of the department's 44 decision not to correct the mistake or error. The commissioner shall 45 decide any such appeal within thirty days of receipt of the appeal, but 46 no later than two weeks before an incarcerated individual's scheduled 47 appearance before the parole board. 48 3. If a substantial mistake or error exists in the risk and needs 49 assessment or in other reports or documents provided to the board for 50 use at a parole interview and the incarcerated individual is subsequent- 51 ly denied parole, the incarcerated individual shall be given a de novo 52 parole interview within two months of the discovery of such mistake or 53 error. A substantial mistake or error for the purposes of this subdivi- 54 sion is any mistake or error that worsens the incarcerated individual's 55 overall score on such individual's risk and needs assessment. 
 S. 1861 3 1 § 3. Subparagraph (A) of paragraph (c) of subdivision 2 of section 2 259-i of the executive law, as amended by chapter 322 of the laws of 3 2021, is amended to read as follows: 4 (A) Discretionary release on parole shall not be granted merely as a 5 reward for good conduct or efficient performance of duties while 6 confined but after considering if there is a reasonable probability 7 that, if such incarcerated individual is released, [he or she] such 8 individual will live and remain at liberty without violating the law, 9 and that [his or her] such individual's release is not incompatible with 10 the welfare of society and will not so deprecate the seriousness of [his 11 or her] such individual's crime as to undermine respect for law. In 12 making the parole release decision, the procedures, rules and regu- 13 lations incorporating risk and needs principles adopted pursuant to 14 subdivision four of section two hundred fifty-nine-c of this article 15 shall require that the following be considered if not already taken into 16 account by the risk and needs assessment: (i) the institutional record 17 including program goals and accomplishments, academic achievements, 18 vocational education, training or work assignments, therapy and inter- 19 actions with staff and incarcerated individuals; (ii) performance, if 20 any, as a participant in a temporary release program; (iii) release 21 plans including community resources, employment, education and training 22 and support services available to the incarcerated individual; (iv) any 23 deportation order issued by the federal government against the incarcer- 24 ated individual while in the custody of the department and any recommen- 25 dation regarding deportation made by the commissioner of the department 26 pursuant to section one hundred forty-seven of the correction law; (v) 27 any current or prior statement made to the board by the crime victim or 28 the victim's representative, where the crime victim is deceased or is 29 mentally or physically incapacitated; (vi) the length of the determinate 30 sentence to which the incarcerated individual would be subject had [he 31 or she] such individual received a sentence pursuant to section 70.70 or 32 section 70.71 of the penal law for a felony defined in article two 33 hundred twenty or article two hundred twenty-one of the penal law; (vii) 34 the seriousness of the offense with due consideration to the type of 35 sentence, length of sentence and recommendations of the sentencing 36 court, the district attorney, the attorney for the incarcerated individ- 37 ual, the pre-sentence probation report as well as consideration of any 38 mitigating and aggravating factors, and activities following arrest 39 prior to confinement; and (viii) prior criminal record, including the 40 nature and pattern of offenses, adjustment to any previous probation or 41 parole supervision and institutional confinement. The board shall 42 provide toll free telephone access for crime victims. In the case of an 43 oral statement made in accordance with subdivision one of section 440.50 44 of the criminal procedure law, the parole board member shall present a 45 written report of the statement to the parole board. A crime victim's 46 representative shall mean the crime victim's closest surviving relative, 47 the committee or guardian of such person, or the legal representative of 48 any such person. Such statement submitted by the victim or victim's 49 representative may include information concerning threatening or intim- 50 idating conduct toward the victim, the victim's representative, or the 51 victim's family, made by the person sentenced and occurring after the 52 sentencing. Such information may include, but need not be limited to, 53 the threatening or intimidating conduct of any other person who or which 54 is directed by the person sentenced. Any statement by a victim or the 55 victim's representative made to the board shall be maintained by the 56 department in the file provided to the board when interviewing the 
 S. 1861 4 1 incarcerated individual in consideration of release. A victim or 2 victim's representative who has submitted a written request to the 3 department for the transcript of such interview shall be provided such 4 transcript as soon as it becomes available. 5 § 4. This act shall take effect immediately.