José Colón has watched many people die behind bars.

The 42-year-old is serving a sentence of 30 years to life at Sing Sing Correctional Facility, and has spent the last few years caring for other incarcerated men who are sick and dying. As Colón ages and his own health deteriorates, he is seeing firsthand why he doesn’t want to become one of them.

This spring, two bills are pending in New York’s state Legislature that would make it less likely that Colón and others serving lengthy sentences will die in prison. One would allow those in prison to ask for early release if they’re 55 or older and have served at least 15 years of their sentence. Another would require the parole board to let people leave prison once they’re eligible for early release, unless they’re likely to break the law again.

As the legislative session draws to a close, time is running out for lawmakers to consider both measures. Supporters hope the bills, which have stalled in the past, can pick up enough support in the Democratic-led Legislature this year. But even some Democrats are hesitant to back the measures in an election year, as they continue to face criticism for passing other controversial criminal justice policies in recent years, including bail reform. The uncertain future of the two bills could serve as a bellwether for a host of criminal justice measures that have yet to pass in the Legislature this session.

Colón, who was convicted of killing an elderly couple during a botched robbery when he was a teenager, started volunteering as a hospice helper during the pandemic, he said, when the virus coursed through the crowded prison and many men became so weak they couldn’t get out of bed. He said some were rushed to the hospital and never came back.

Since then, he’s spent his time caring for people undergoing chemotherapy and radiation, people with broken bones, and people returning from a stay in the hospital. He said he brings them food and water, helps them go to the bathroom and tries to make them feel comfortable — like they’re not alone.

“I understand that we’re incarcerated and we’re classified as incarcerated individuals,” Colón said. “But for those few moments where you’re actually taking care of a person and showing that compassion, you see from all sides that there is no boundary, there’s no border, there’s no line.”

State Sen. Julia Salazar, who sponsored one of the bills, said neither measure would guarantee that anyone would be granted parole. Rather, she said, the goal is to provide a greater chance at early release for people who have worked to improve their lives, even if they can’t take back the seriousness of their past crimes. The approval rate for parole was less than 40% in 2021, the last year of available state data.

“Ideally parole should be an opportunity for individuals who are incarcerated to demonstrate that they are ready to go home at their earliest possible release date based on their sentence,” Salazar said, adding: “It should not be about perpetual punishment.”

State Sen. Brad Hoylman-Sigal, who sponsored the “Elder Parole” bill, said his legislation would also save taxpayers money as New York’s prison population ages.

Instead of spending money to incarcerate older people, who are more likely to need costly medical care, Hoylman-Sigal said, the state could divert those savings toward better rehabilitative and re-entry services. He said people might be more willing to seek out that programming if they knew they had a better chance of going home.

“This is an incentive to reform oneself and conduct oneself behind prison walls in a way that they might impress their parole officers,” Hoylman-Sigal said. “Locking an individual up and throwing away the key is a disincentive for model behavior.”

About 9,900 people are serving sentences that require them to stay in prison for at least 15 years, not including those serving life without the possibility of parole, according to data from the New York Department of Corrections and Community Supervision. A recent state comptroller’s report found the percentage of New York’s prison population aged 50 or older more than doubled between 2008 and 2021, from 12% to more than 24%, while the overall number of people behind bars plummeted.

Bryant Bell knows what it feels like to be passed over for parole time after time. He said he was sentenced to up to 32 years in prison for a killing that he has always maintained he did not commit. He said he met with the parole board six times before the commissioners decided to grant him early release. The final board members who interviewed Bell asked him more questions — about his innocence claims, his time in prison, his future plans — according to a transcript of the hearing. They decided to let him go.

Bell now works as a paralegal for the Legal Aid Society. But while he waited for each successive parole appointment, he said, he often doubted such a day would come.

“You’re like, ‘Wow, will I ever get a chance to even be a productive member of society?” Bell said. “Will I ever get a chance to live a normal life? Will I ever have kids? Will I ever get married?’”

Critics argue legislation goes too far

Progressives have been trying to pass both parole bills in Albany for years. But they have struggled to gain momentum, especially following backlash from other recent  changes to the state’s criminal justice system, like bail reform. 

Now, the bills are assigned to committees, with no scheduled vote on the floor. Salazar said this year it’s been difficult to convince some of her Democratic colleagues who are up for re-election.

”Their response to me is ‘I’m afraid that I will be punished politically by the voters or by my opponent or opposition if I support parole justice or criminal legal reform,’” she said. “It’s really disappointing.”

Tom Abinanti, a Westchester Democrat, said he would not support the bills in their present form.

Abinanti  is a former assembly member who is  running to win back the seat he lost a couple years ago.  He said he supports compassionate release for people who are terminally ill and parole for people who can prove to the board under the current system that they deserve it.

But he said early release should not be the default. People who commit particularly egregious crimes, like mass shootings, should not be included in the legislation, he added.

“I believe that that is an extremist position and doesn’t protect the public,” Abinanti said.

Jennifer Harrison agrees. Her boyfriend, Kevin Davis, was stabbed to death at a bar nearly 20 years ago. Following his death, she became an advocate and founded Victims Rights New York.

Harrison said she and other crime victims don’t get a second chance at life with their loved ones. The people who killed them shouldn’t get a second chance, either, she said.

“We’re the ones that have to serve a lifelong sentence,” Harrison said. “I can’t go pick Kevin up because it’s been 15 years or because somebody decided that to be compassionate towards my circumstances and say, ‘You know what, you’ve been through enough. Your time is served. Let’s let you be happy now.’ That doesn’t happen.”

Colón, at Sing Sing, said he’s become a nurse’s aide, enrolled in school and made other drastic changes in his life to honor those he has harmed, including his victims, their loved ones and his own family. He said people like him who are remorseful and work hard to make amends shouldn’t have to die in prison.

Colón said he’s ready to take the lessons he’s learned behind bars and use them to make some sort of positive impact on the world outside.

“Give me an opportunity to come home,” he said. “I’m just taking up space right now.”

Colón is scheduled to go  before the parole board in 2029.