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Activists were joined online by elected officials Wednesday for the launch of the New York State Clemency Initiative.
Freedom Unshackled Coalition s initiative to convince New York Governor Andrew Cuomo to increase granting racial and gender diverse clemencies to four times a year began with a letter the group sent to the Democrat May 6th.
Both the Albany County Legislature and the city Common Council have previously made formal declarations asking the governor to grant clemency more frequently.
Roni Minter with Freedom Unshackled says that under Cuomo, clemency has traditionally only been granted once a year, during the holiday season. Governor Cuomo actually ran on a platform that he will fix the clemency issues within the Department of Corrections and make it a smoother process. This has been a failed experiment of his. Just a little background: Governor Carey issue 155 computations. Governor Mario Cuomo issued 37 computations, Governor Pataki issued 32, and at the en
Jan 15, 2021
The group Sistas Healing Old Wounds (SHOW) is on a mission to help women who are currently incarcerated and those who are transitioning out of prison, in ways that are both personal and practical. In this episode of Upstate Issues, Diane Donato talks with one of SHOW s founders, Roni Minter, about the inspiration behind the group and the work they are trying to do. Minter says when she was behind bars she came to realize that there was a great need for women to help other women heal the wounds that prevent them from moving forward. It s a need for a support system that doesn t stop when the workday ends for most professional counselors. Now a hotline has been established to support women in off hours. SHOW is also providing training sessions for those who work with incarcerated and recently incarcerated women to help teach professionals more about needs of these women. In addition SHOW has started the Dignity Bag initiative to provide some essential care items to women