Rossakis v. New York State Board of Parole
New York Supreme Court, Appellate Division
146 A.D.3d 22 (2016)
- Written by Haley Gintis, JD
Facts
In 1993 Niki Rossakis (plaintiff) shot her husband. Rossakis claimed that her husband had abused her throughout their marriage and that the shooting was in self-defense. In 1996 Rossakis was convicted and sentenced to prison for 23 years to life. On appeal, the court found the sentence excessive and reduced Rossakis’s sentence to 15 years to life. In 2009 and 2011, Rossakis sought parole. The New York State Board of Parole (the board) (defendant) denied Rossakis’s parole requests. Rossakis appealed the board’s 2011 decision. By 2013 the appeal was still pending, and Rossakis became eligible to seek parole again. At the parole hearing, Rossakis introduced into evidence that she had obtained multiple associate degrees while incarcerated, had completed multiple rehabilitative programs, and had a job offer pending her release. Rossakis also introduced her Correctional Offender Management Profiling for Alternative Sanction evaluation, which indicated that she was unlikely to become a recidivist. Additionally, Rossakis testified that she felt remorse for her actions and that, although she was a domestic-violence victim, she could have taken other actions to alleviate the abuse. The board denied Rossakis parole. The board explained that releasing Rossakis would be counter to society’s welfare, that she had committed a serious offense, and that she had lacked remorse because she still considered herself a victim. Rossakis appealed the board’s decision to the New York Supreme Court. The court found that the board’s decision was arbitrary and capricious because the board failed to consider the statutory factors provided in the state’s Executive Law. The court ordered that Rossakis receive a new parole hearing and that the board consider the statutory factors centered on forward-thinking and planning. The matter was appealed to the appellate division.
Rule of Law
Issue
Holding and Reasoning (Gesmer, J.)
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