A grassroots campaign, Communities Not Cages, launched in 2021 to advocate for three sentencing reform bills in New York state: the Eliminate Mandatory Minimums Act, Second Look Act and Earned Time Act. Advocates say there are a number of reasons to make the bills law, including the disproportionate impact on minority communities and the cost of prisons.

Republican candidates campaigned and many won this year on crime and public safety, says Grant Reeher, professor of political science and director of the Campbell Public Affairs Institute.

He says the bills sound like they make sense and they could not only help lower some of the expensive costs of incarceration, but also help with some social issues. "But politically, the timing of these things couldn’t be worse," Reeher says.

Read more in the Syracuse.com article, "Syracuse woman, others lobby for changes in New York sentencing rules."