A few weeks ago, Alexander Horwitz, executive director of New Yorkers United for Justice told Capital Tonight that the current system of parole in New York is racist, costly, and broken.

“When you’re defending a system that sends a person of color to prison for drinking a beer or for missing a single appointment, you're not making a case for public safety. You're making a case for mass incarceration,” Horwitz said.

If the Democrats win a supermajority in the State Senate, more progressive criminal justice legislation, like parole reform, will likely be on the agenda. 

The bill that Democrats appear to be unifying behind is sponsored by Senator Brian Benjamin, and is known as the “Less is More Act."

The bill establishes an “earned time credit” that reduces a person’s post-release supervision sentence. It also limits technical violations that Horwitz and others claim, force parolees back behind bars for minor infractions.

But the bill has a powerful foe in Wayne Spence, the president of the Public Employees Federation, and a former parole officer.

PEF’s opposition memo to the bill reads, in part, “As written, the bill language makes it virtually impossible to incarcerate anyone for violating one of the few violations deemed significant enough to merit re-incarceration (i.e., testing positive for alcohol or non-prescribed drugs or controlled substances, failing to report, and failing to notify of a change in address).”

Advocates for reform like Horwitz disagree.

“The Less is More legislation seeks to provide positive incentives, rather than solely harsh punishments, by allowing people to shorten their period of supervision by complying with the conditions of their parole, while still addressing serious offenses with serious consequences. The question isn’t will New York state finally address the racist, costly, and broken parole system, but when,” said Horwitz.

Spence spoke with Capital Tonight about why PEF is fighting against the “Less is More Act.”