People’s Campaign for Parole Justice (PCPJ)

Background

The People’s Campaign for Parole Justice formally launched on January 14, 2021, during the COVID-19 pandemic. Led by the Release Aging People in Prison Campaign (RAPP) and Parole Preparation Project, the coalition initially brought together roughly 15 to 18 organizations and said its platform was supported by 250 groups. PCPJ later claimed participation or support from more than 300 organizations. ^{1  2  3  4}

The founding coalition included VOCAL-NY, Citizen Action of New York, New Hour for Women and Children, New York Communities for Change, Center for Community Alternatives, the Osborne Association, New York Civil Liberties Union, FWD.us, the Legal Aid Society of New York, and other advocacy and legal organizations. ⁴ The coalition subsequently expanded to include criminal-justice advocacy organizations, labor unions, religious groups, and political organizations. Its partner list included the New York Working Families Party (WFP), 1199SEIU United Healthcare Workers East (UHE), the Innocence Project, North Star Fund, several Democratic Socialists of America (DSA) chapters, and the Albany branch of the Party for Socialism and Liberation as of 2026. ⁵

Advocacy

“Fair and Timely” Parole

The People’s Campaign for Parole Justice’s “Fair and Timely” Parole proposal would apply to incarcerated people who are already parole-eligible and would shift the release decision away from the original offense and toward rehabilitation and present risk. The Senate sponsor memorandum states that the Board of Parole “shall release” an eligible person unless the case record demonstrates an unreasonable risk that the person will violate the law and that the risk cannot be mitigated through parole supervision. ^{6  7}

Under the proposal, the board’s risk determination would have to be based on statutory factors that include evidence of rehabilitation and reform; the bill would prevent denial based solely or primarily on the seriousness of the original offense, prior criminal record, or victim statements. The measure has been introduced in different forms since the 2017-2018 legislative session. ⁶

PCPJ has organized recurring advocacy days, rallies, petitions, legislative-contact campaigns, and membership meetings to advance the measure. At a January 21, 2026 advocacy day in Albany, the coalition arranged buses from around the state and planned marches, rallies, and a press conference calling for passage of both parole bills. The coalition urged supporters to use what it called “people power” to secure floor votes and enactment. ⁸

Elder Parole

PCPJ also supports Elder Parole legislation. The proposal would make an incarcerated person eligible for an interview with the Parole Board after reaching age 55 and serving at least 15 years of a sentence, even if the person had not reached the ordinary minimum parole-eligibility date. The proposal would not guarantee release; if release were denied, the individual would receive another interview no more than 24 months later. PCPJ estimated that roughly 1,000 incarcerated people would become immediately eligible for parole consideration if the bill became law. ^{7  9}

Parole Board and Coalition Organizing

PCPJ also calls for a fully staffed, 19-member Parole Board and claims that commissioners should include people with professional backgrounds in social work, health care, reentry, and mental health who can evaluate rehabilitation. Parole Preparation Project states that the campaign seeks commissioners who believe in “redemption, mercy and transformation.” ^{10  7  11  12}

Controversy

People’s Campaign for Parole Justice’s proposals have drawn opposition from Republican legislators, law-enforcement organizations, and some crime victims and victims’ relatives. In April 2025, New York State Senator George Borrello (R-Sunset Bay) criticized Fair and Timely Parole and related criminal-justice bills as measures that would weaken accountability and diminish the role of the original offense and victim impact in release decisions. Borrello argued that the proposals favored offenders at the expense of victims and public safety. ¹³

The New York Post reported in May 2026 that critics argued the two PCPJ-backed bills could create release opportunities for prisoners convicted of notorious murders, including serial killer David Berkowitz and John Lennon murderer Mark David Chapman. The Elder Parole bill would provide qualifying prisoners with an earlier hearing rather than automatic release, while Fair and Timely Parole would apply a presumption of release to people who are already parole-eligible unless the statutory risk standard is met. The Post quoted victims’ relatives and law-enforcement sources who argued that the changes would force families to revisit cases and could reduce the weight given to the severity of the original crime. ^{6  9  14}

PCPJ rejects the characterization of its proposals as blanket-release policies. Its advocacy materials emphasize that Elder Parole provides an opportunity for review rather than automatic release and that Fair and Timely Parole retains Parole Board discretion under a revised legal standard. The campaign also highlights crime survivors and survivor-advocacy organizations that support its approach, arguing that victims do not hold a single view on incarceration and parole. ¹⁵

Financials

People’s Campaign for Parole Justice presents itself as a coalition rather than a standalone organization and does not publish its own annual Form 990 or consolidated financial statements on its website. Publicly identifiable support for the campaign has instead been routed through participating nonprofit organizations, including the North Star Fund, which in 2024 awarded the Parole Preparation Project a $200,000 grant described as “General Operating Support for the Peoples Campaign for Parole Justice Coalition.” ¹⁶

The Correctional Association of New York, which PCPJ lists as a campaign partner, reported a $10,000 grant to the Parole Preparation Project in its 2022 grantmaking data with the purpose “to support work for parole justice.” The grant description did not specify that the entire award was restricted to PCPJ. ^{17  5}

In May 2026, the New York Post reported that the grantmaking network associated with billionaire philanthropist George Soros had awarded at least $7.1 million since 2016 to eight organizations identified as PCPJ founders. According to the report, the recipients included FWD.us ($3.2 million), VOCAL-NY ($1.7 million), the Legal Aid Society ($1.6 million), Center for Community Alternatives ($250,000), RAPP ($180,000), Parole Preparation Project ($135,000), the New York Civil Liberties Union ($100,000), and New York Communities for Change ($74,995). ¹⁴

Leadership and Coalition Structure

People’s Campaign for Parole Justice does not publicly identify an executive director, president, or independent board of directors. RAPP states that it initiated and helps lead PCPJ and that it built the coalition with the Parole Preparation Project, which separately describes itself as a founding and core member. The coalition’s public structure appears to be distributed among leading member organizations and a steering committee rather than centered on a standalone corporate leadership team. ^{10  3}

Other publicly identified steering-committee participants include the Center on Race, Inequality, and the Law at NYU School of Law and Partnership for the Public Good. ^{18  12}