Gov. Cuomo to issue pardons to some former youthful offenders

The violations mostly affected small walkup buildings containing fewer than 10 apartments and in total left around 145 tenants out in the cold, according to the New York Daily News.

But while legislation aimed at ebbing the steady flow of New Yorkers into one of the largest prison systems in the country falters, a new program announced over the weekend will aim to grant pardons to thousands of youthful offenders originally convicted of nonviolent felonies and misdemeanors-drug-related crimes, as well as bribery, arson, trespass, and reckless endangerment, among others.

Cuomo’s office says “approximately 10,000 people will be impacted” and that around 350 people will become eligible for pardoning each year.

“They were young and made a mistake”, Cuomo told WNYC radio.

Andrew Cuomo speaks during an event on World AIDS Day at the Apollo Theater in New York, Tuesday, Dec. 1, 2015.

“We spent all of these years believing that if we punished every offender enough without any relief in the future, every crime would disappear”, he said.

Also, at least ten years must have passed since the person was either convicted of the crime, or released from incarceration for that crime.

Cuomo’s administration also plans to take proactive steps, seeking out those who qualify to let them know how to apply online for a pardon.

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Still, some advocacy groups that represent the rights of minors within the criminal justice system are pleased with Cuomo’s recent decision to invest political capital in the idea of clemency.

“We are glad Governor Cuomo is taking this important unilateral action and look forward to working with the Governor and the State Legislature to pass comprehensive legislation to raise the age of criminal responsibility this coming session”, a spokeswoman for the Children’s Defense Fund in NY said in a statement on Monday.