Robert Ehrenberg says he couldn’t believe the headline when he heard that Downstate Correctional Facility, along with five other state prisons, would close for good.
“It sounds like we’re moving in the right direction," he said.
What You Need To Know
- Gov. Kathy Hochul recently announced that six state prisons will close
- According to the State Department of Corrections and Community Supervision, these prisons are at less than half capacity
- State officials say that this move will save $142 million and won't result in any layoffs
Ehrenberg spent time at Downstate Correctional in Dutchess County. Former Governor Andrew Cuomo granted him clemency for his crime and now, he advocates for prison reform. He says Governor Kathy Hochul’s decision to close the prisons is only possible because of an attitude shift toward incarceration.
“Society is changing, their attitudes toward people who are released," Ehrenberg said.
Incarceration rates are also changing in the state; according to the State Department of Corrections and Community Supervision, the number of incarcerated people in state prisons are at their lowest since 1984. The six facilities slated to close, state officials say, are at less than half capacity.
Laurie Dick, founder of incarceration reform group Beacon Prison Action, says these declining numbers are a result of several developments.
“The Rockefeller drug laws were unnecessarily punitive, incarcerating people beyond that which is needed to remove a person from society during their prime," she said.
But some say the prison closures could be a threat to public safety. Michael Powers, president of the New York State Corrections Officers & Police Benevolent Association, said in a statement, in part that the closures could, “upend lives and destroy communities.”
Governor Hochul says more closures could come and the state should be more creative when it comes to using existing facilities, such as to fight substance abuse.
“What can be accomplished in those institutions that would allow a smoother transition back to liberty beyond release?" Dick said.
State officials say these closures won’t result in layoffs and will save taxpayers around $142 million.
Ehrenberg says this move, if paired with more reforms, could help more inmates re-join society.
“I believe that we need very good avenues and mechanisms for release of the inmates," he said, "especially the aging inmates that are dwelling within our institutions.”