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Correctional Association of New York
Release of Aging People in Prison (RAPP) Campaign
The Release of Aging People in Prison (RAPP) Campaign is an independent organizing and policy project that aims to establish a parole process in New York that is transparent, all inclusive, and fair, in which the state bases its parole decisions on legitimate public safety risk and individuals’ demonstrated personal growth while in prison. Led by Mujahid Farid, a 2013 Soros Justice Fellow who was incarcerated for 33 years in New York before his release in 2011, the RAPP Campaign focuses on the rapidly growing population of aging people in prison – many of whom are long-termers convicted of serious crimes. Many of these human beings have taken responsibility for their crimes, have transformed their lives and developed skills and abilities they lacked before incarceration, and could be released from prison with no threat to public safety. Yet many are denied release, often for political reasons, and needlessly remain imprisoned into old age.
The campaign will seek fair and objective hearings for all individuals who come before the Parole Board. Significantly, our approach will not seek expanded release opportunities for certain classes of offenses by denying opportunities for others. In contrast, we will insist that decisions be made on a person’s individual merits and experiences inside. This operating principle not only makes the RAPP Campaign unique, but also allows it to challenge a fundamental pillar of the mass incarceration crisis: the reliance on a system of permanent punishment, a culture of retribution and revenge rather than rehabilitation and healing.
The RAPP Campaign is mobilizing currently and formerly incarcerated individuals, their families, and other concerned community members in efforts designed to increase parole release rates for aging people in prison who pose no risk to public safety. RAPP is also partnering with the Drop the Rock Coalition, which previously helped lead efforts to reform NY’s infamous Rockefeller Drug Laws, and is reaching out to other prison justice groups to join in carrying out this work. From this united base, we will work to (1) raise public awareness about the destructiveness of mass incarceration and the benefits to society in releasing aging people, including those convicted of violent crimes who do not pose a risk to public safety and (2) promote the use of key mechanisms for releasing elderly people including parole decisions, compassionate release, and policy changes.
Click here for Information on the Next Meeting of the RAPP Coalition,
The following documents, in Adobe Acrobat (.pdf) format, provide additional information:
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• Overview of the RAPP Campaign
• Articles from the Wall Street Journal, New York Times
• Petition
• Template for letters for Parole Commisioners
Contact: Majahid Farid
RAPP Campaign
The Correctional Association of New York
2090 Adam Clayton Powell Jr Boulevard Ste 200
New York, New York 10027
Phone: 212-254-5700 Extension 317
Fax: 212-473-2807
www.RAPPCampaign.org
mjfarid@CorrectionalAssociation.org