Clemency Pilot Project Proposal for New York

Too many people serving life and long-term sentences see no hope of ever being free, and, as a result, eschew programming and any efforts to grow and improve. Presently, the random and limited nature of grants of clemency creates a sense that it is unattainable and not worth striving toward. On the other hand, knowing that clemency is guaranteed to occur annually for a set number of people at each maximum-security facility will instill the life-changing hope and motivation required to foster positive behavioral growth throughout each facility.