Clergy Challenge Incarceration in New York State

Governor Andrew Cuomo, NYS Senate Majority Leader John Flanagan, NYS Assembly Speaker Carl Heastie, NYS Senator Jeff Klein

At the end of last year, the New York Times published a series of investigative articles exposing racial injustice at every level of the New York State Prison system. For the incarcerated and formerly incarcerated, their family members, their communities, and anyone who has paid attention to the criminal justice system in our state, these revelations were not new.

For people of faith and conscience, this situation is simply unacceptable. The ongoing abuse and violence of our criminal justice system, which bears disproportionate impact upon communities of color, the poor, and other vulnerable populations like LGBTQ people, must end.


Many faith communities, organizations, and people fighting for justice have been calling for an end to these abuses for many years. Recently, a group of grassroots organizations formed and developed a holistic platform for ending the injustices of incarceration in our state. Read the platform and 2017 priorities here.

Sign the below letter to endorse the platform and tell our state legislative leaders that ending the injustice of our prison system is a moral duty.

To: Governor Andrew Cuomo, NYS Senate Majority Leader John Flanagan, NYS Assembly Speaker Carl Heastie, NYS Senator Jeff Klein
From: [Your Name]

February 2017

Honorable Andrew M. Cuomo
Governor of the State of New York
NYS State Capitol Building
Albany, NY 12224

Honorable John Flanagan
Senate Majority Leader
NYS State Capitol Building
Albany, NY 12224

Honorable Carl Heastie
Assembly Speaker
NYS State Capitol Building
Albany, NY 12224

Honorable Jeff Klein
NYS Senator, IDC Conference Leader
NYS State Capitol Building
Albany, NY 12224



Dear Governor Cuomo, Majority Leader Flanagan, Speaker Heastie, and Senator Klein:

As faith leaders from many backgrounds, traditions and beliefs, we write to you united by our great concern for the future of our communities. Too many of our congregants and neighbors suffer under the system of incarceration in New York State. Incarceration does not simply harm the one who is subject to it, rather the impacts of incarceration spread widely amidst families, neighborhoods, towns and cities.

For too long, so-called “tough-on-crime” approaches to policing and incarceration have, rather than promote safety, accountability, and restoration, instead served to further devastate communities that already suffer in poverty. The roots of our current system trace back to slavery and segregation, and disproportionately target black and brown people for criminalization, policing and incarceration.

This ongoing injustice is an affront to our most deeply rooted moral and ethical values. The disparate impacts of the criminal justice system across race violate the constitutional value of equal protection under the law. The present system is a tool of punishment and oppression, not accountability and restoration. We reject the premise that this kind of punishment and revenge can make our society safer.

In holding to these values, we urge you, as elected representatives and servants of all the people of New York State, to enact the laws and reforms of the Challenging Incarceration platform (see attached). These humane, commonsense and common-good reforms will begin to end the ongoing suffering and injustice of our prison system, move towards a more just and humane society, and strengthen our communities with values of accountability and restoration.

The platform consists of four categories: 1) end mass incarceration, 2) establishing community empowerment, reconstruction, and control, 3) end state violence and torture, and shift away from a punishment paradigm, and 4) end structural racism, ensure a focus on women and LGBTI people, and protect the human rights of all people - including groups disproportionately harmed by the punishment system.

We feel that the various policy proposals and structural changes included in this platform will comprehensively and holistically address the harm caused by the systems of mass incarceration. We hope you agree.

Thank you for your consideration of these matters. We know that, should you pursue these policies, you will face substantial resistance. But doing the right thing is rarely easy. We are ready to stand by you and move forward. All New Yorkers will be better off under this approach.

Sincerely,