Requires the department of corrections and community supervision to establish discharge plans and reentry services for wrongfully convicted individuals upon their discharge which includes housing needs, educational needs, employment needs, medical needs, and specific social service needs.
NEW YORK STATE ASSEMBLY MEMORANDUM IN SUPPORT OF LEGISLATION submitted in accordance with Assembly Rule III, Sec 1(f)
BILL NUMBER: A8017
SPONSOR: Dinowitz TITLE OF BILL:
An act to amend the correction law, in relation to requiring the depart-
ment of corrections and community supervision to establish discharge
plans and reentry services for wrongfully convicted individuals upon
their discharge
PURPOSE:
To require the department of corrections and community supervision to
provide discharge plans and reentry services for individuals who were
wrongfully convicted.
SUMMARY OF PROVISIONS:
Section one of the -bill amends the section heading of ' § 78 of the
correction law to add, following "Discharge plans", "and reentry
services; juvenile offenders and adolescent offenders."
Section two of the bill adds § 78-a to the correction law.
Subdivision one provides definitions for "wrongfully convicted individ-
ual," "discharge plan," and "reentry services." Subdivision two
requires, prior to the release of an eligible incarcerated individual, a
designee from the department of corrections, in consultation with non-
profit providers, and in conjunction with a wrongfully convicted indi-
vidual, to develop and offer the individual a discharge plan that is
designed to address the unique needs of the wrongfully convicted indi-
vidual, including but not limited to, their geographic location upon
release from the custody of the department, housing needs, educational
needs, employment needs, medical needs, and specific social service
needs.This subdivision further requires the discharge plan to also
provide access to reentry services including, but not limited to, case
management and connections to employment services, educational services,
mental health services, medical care, housing services, and other social
services that may be available to the individual upon their release.
Section three of the bill provides the effective date.
JUSTIFICATION:
A wrongfully convicted individual is someone who has been found guilty
and subsequently pUnished through legal proceedings, but who is later
deteiwined to be innocent of the crime for which they were convicted.
Some wrongfully convicted individuals are sentenced to prison and spend
years behind bars.This can happen for various reasons, including errors,
in the legal process, false evidence, coerced confessions, or the
discovery of new evidence that clears the individual's name.
A 2022 article by the Bronx Times stated that 331 people have been exon-
erated in New York State in the last 33 years, and those are just the
cases that have been recorded. Undoubtedly, individuals who were wrong-
fully convicted of a crime are sitting in prisons across New York State
at any given moment.
Wrongfully convicted individuals who are incarcerated face an unjust
loss of freedom and potential damage to their lives. Currently, New York
State law requires that DOCCS provide re-entry services only to some
offenders, not including those who were wrongfully convicted. There-
fore, individuals who were wrongfully convicted and released from jail
are not' offered any re-entry services. Recognizing the emotional,
psychological, and practical hardships that wrongfully convicted indi-
viduals might experience, this bill will ensure that wrongfully
convicted individuals are provided essential services upon release.
Individuals who spend time in prison for a crime they did not commit are
deserving of the best resources and support to assist in their reinte-
gration into society and the State must demonstrate its commitment to
treating individuals with dignity and addressing their unique needs.
Without proper support upon release, wrongfully convicted individuals
might be at risk of falling into homelessness, mental and physical
health challenges, and challenges related to education and employment.
By providing tailored discharge plans and reentry services, the bill
seeks to promote successful reintegration and facilitate a smoother
reentry process by ensuring access to housing, education, employment,
medical care, and other social services, which can help these individ-
uals rebuild their lives.
PRIOR LEGISLATIVE HISTORY:
New bill.
FISCAL IMPLICATIONS:
None.
EFFECTIVE DATE:
This act shall take effect on the sixtieth day after it shall have
become a law. Effective immediately, the addition, amendment and/or
repeal of any rule or regulation necessary for the implementation of
this act on its effective date are authorized to be made and completed
on or before such effective date.
STATE OF NEW YORK
________________________________________________________________________
8017
2023-2024 Regular Sessions
IN ASSEMBLY
September 1, 2023
___________
Introduced by M. of A. DINOWITZ -- read once and referred to the Commit-
tee on Correction
AN ACT to amend the correction law, in relation to requiring the depart-
ment of corrections and community supervision to establish discharge
plans and reentry services for wrongfully convicted individuals upon
their discharge
The People of the State of New York, represented in Senate and Assem-bly, do enact as follows:
1 Section 1. The section heading of section 78 of the correction law, as
2 added by section 81-b of part WWW of chapter 59 of the laws of 2017, is
3 amended to read as follows:
4 Discharge plans and reentry services; juvenile offenders and adoles-
5 cent offenders.
6 § 2. The correction law is amended by adding a new section 78-a to
7 read as follows:
8 § 78-a. Discharge plans and reentry services; wrongfully convicted
9 individuals. 1. Definitions. For the purposes of this section, the term:
10 (a) "wrongfully convicted individual" means a person who has been
11 convicted and subsequently determined to be innocent of the crime for
12 which they were convicted.
13 (b) "discharge plan" means a plan describing the manner in which the
14 wrongfully convicted individual will be able to receive reentry services
15 upon release from the custody of the department to the community.
16 (c) "reentry services" means appropriate programming and support plan-
17 ning offered to a wrongfully convicted individual upon release from the
18 custody of the department to the community, as well as follow-up support
19 offered to the individual after their release.
20 2. Discharge plans and reentry services. Prior to the release of an
21 eligible incarcerated individual from the custody of the department, a
22 designee of the department shall, in consultation with non-profit
23 providers and in conjunction with such wrongfully convicted individual,
EXPLANATION--Matter in italics (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
[] is old law to be omitted.
LBD11996-01-3
A. 8017 2
1 develop and offer to such individual a discharge plan. Such discharge
2 plan shall:
3 (a) be designed to address the unique needs of the wrongfully
4 convicted individual, including, but not limited to, the individual's
5 geographic location upon release from the custody of the department,
6 housing needs, educational needs, employment needs, medical needs, and
7 specific social service needs.
8 (b) provide access to reentry services including, but not be limited
9 to, case management and connections to employment services, educational
10 services, mental health services, medical care, housing services, and
11 other social services that may be available to such wrongfully convicted
12 individual upon their release.
13 § 3. This act shall take effect on the sixtieth day after it shall
14 have become a law. Effective immediately, the addition, amendment and/or
15 repeal of any rule or regulation necessary for the implementation of
16 this act on its effective date are authorized to be made and completed
17 on or before such effective date.
