Families who have lost loved ones in New York’s prisons joined a dozen state lawmakers, formerly incarcerated people and more than 500 other New Yorkers at the State Capitol in Albany on Monday, February 9, to demand passage of three sentencing reform bills, according to a media advisory from the New York Civil Liberties Union and the Communities Not Cages campaign.
Organizers said the noon rally on the Capitol’s Million Dollar Staircase pressed legislators to advance the Second Look Act, the Earned Time Act and the Marvin Mayfield Act, a package the coalition described as measures that would reunite families and promote safety and justice. The advisory said the bills are intended to address how long people are held in state custody and the pathways available for their release, though it did not detail the specific provisions of each measure.
The campaign said the three bills have drawn support from the state’s chief judge, a former prison commissioner and major labor unions, a coalition it cited as evidence that the reforms reach beyond advocacy groups. The NYCLU did not name those officials or unions in the advisory.
Among the speakers, organizers said, were the father and son of Robert Brooks, along with other relatives of people who died behind bars. The coalition framed those personal accounts as central to its case for changing how New York sentences and incarcerates people. The advisory was distributed by Mohamed Taguine of the NYCLU, with the Center for Community Alternatives’ Katie Schaffer listed as the press contact.
The rally was also carried on a Zoom livestream for those who could not travel to Albany, the campaign said. The event marked the latest push by sentencing reform advocates to move the legislation during the current session in the state Legislature.
