As a law enforcement professional, I’ve spent my career dedicated to keeping communities safe. But I’ve also seen firsthand how excessive sentences and outdated laws fail to promote safety — and often undermine it.
New York lawmakers are now considering three common-sense bills to bring our state into alignment with best practices around both public safety and justice. The Earned Time Act, Second Look Act and the Marvin Mayfield Act are smart, cost-effective reforms that will reduce unnecessary incarceration, strengthen community cohesion and allow law enforcement to make the best use of our limited resources. Together, these measures will bolster public trust and confidence in New York’s criminal justice system, which will make it easier for law enforcement to do their jobs.
The Earned Time Act would improve safety in prisons and the broader community by incentivizing incarcerated individuals to engage in educational programs, workforce training and personal transformation. These measures have been shown to contribute to reduced recidivism rates, lower prison violence and significant taxpayer savings.
In Washington state, the expansion of earned-time credits led to reduced crime rates and safer prison environments. Research on New York’s Merit Time program has shown similar results. Lawmakers from across the political spectrum have recognized the benefit of earned-time systems, with conservative states like Alabama and Oklahoma among those adopting such measures.
The Second Look Act similarly advances safety and justice by acknowledging a simple truth: People can and do change. This act empowers judges to reconsider excessively long sentences after individuals have served at least 10 years in prison, allowing those who have demonstrated genuine transformation a chance to return to their communities. Aging populations in prisons pose little risk to public safety but cost taxpayers millions as health care needs grow. By establishing a process for careful judicial review, the Second Look Act ensures sentences remain fair and appropriate over time, while promoting safer, less-crowded prison conditions that benefit both corrections officers and incarcerated individuals.
Supporters of this reform include New York’s Chief Judge Rowan Wilson and Chief Administrative Judge Joseph Zayas, as well as former DOCCS Commissioner Brian Fisher, a sign of the bill’s ability to address injustices without compromising public safety.
The Marvin Mayfield Act restores balance and fairness to New York’s legal system by eliminating mandatory minimum sentences, returning discretion to judges to pass down appropriate punishments based on the individual and the details of their case. As members of law enforcement, we know mandatory minimums have done nothing to reduce crime or improve safety. Instead, they've filled prisons with people whose extreme sentences often have no correlation to the danger they may pose to the public. By restoring judicial discretion, the Marvin Mayfield Act will help ensure that our law enforcement resources are preserved for individuals who most need to be separated from the community.
These reforms are widely supported by judges, law enforcement professionals and the public alike. Polling has indicated robust support from New Yorkers across the political spectrum, with strong majorities backing both the Earned Time Act and Second Look Act.
Our continued reliance on excessive sentences has not made us safer; it has starved us of resources that could instead be invested in education, mental health services, crime prevention programs and other tools that bring real and lasting safety.
Those of us in law enforcement know: We cannot simply punish our way to safety. True public safety is multifaceted — community stability, fairness and justice all play an important role. New York has an opportunity to lead by implementing common-sense reforms that recognize the importance these aspects, with benefits for correction officers, incarcerated people and communities across the state.
Martin Horn is a former executive director of the New York State Division of Parole. He has served as New York City commissioner of Correction and Probation and as Pennsylvania’s secretary of Corrections.