Gothamist
A non-profit newsroom, powered by WNYC.
Gothamist
Listen Live
News
NY Gov. Hochul grants clemency to 13 people, including 2 convicted of murder decades ago
By
Samantha Max
Published May 24, 2024
Share
FacebookTwitterRedditEmail
Never miss a story
Email address
By submitting your information, you're agreeing to receive communications from New York Public Radio in accordance with our Terms .
Photo by Lev Radin/Pacific Press/LightRocket via Getty Images
By
Samantha Max
Published May 24, 2024
Share
FacebookTwitterRedditEmail
We rely on your support to make local news available to all
Make your contribution now and help Gothamist thrive in 2026. Donate today
Gothamist is funded by sponsors and member donations
New York Gov. Kathy Hochul on Friday granted clemency to 13 people, including several convicted of drug crimes decades ago and two serving life sentences for murder.
Hochul's announcement follows a promise she made in 2021 to use her executive clemency powers on a rolling basis instead of granting pardons and commutations just once a year during the winter holiday season. Since becoming governor, she has granted clemency to 72 people, according to her office.
A spokesperson for Hochul said more than 1,600 clemency applications are currently pending: 1,184 for sentence commutations, including reduced prison time, and 472 for pardons. Criminal justice advocates have urged her to commute the sentences of more people who are still in prison. In the past few years, Hochul has streamlined the state’s clemency application website and started sending status updates to applicants as requests continue to pile up.
Most of those who were granted clemency on Friday were not in prison and received pardons for drug or theft charges that they were convicted of decades ago. Hochul said the pardons would alleviate the consequences of having a criminal conviction on their records, including threats to immigration status and challenges seeking employment.
The governor announced that two people will get to go before the parole board earlier than they would have been allowed to under their original sentences. These sentence commutations stop short of guaranteeing that either person will be released but increase their chances of release.
One of the commutation recipients is Yohannes Johnson, 67, who otherwise would not appear before the parole board until he turns 99, according to Hochul's office. He has served more than four decades of a 75-year-to-life sentence for a second-degree murder and first-degree robbery conviction from 1982. He was convicted of killing a cab driver, Erroll Blackwood, and attempting to kill another, Andrew White, after robbing him at gunpoint, court records show.
In prison, Johnson became known as “Knowledge,” often passing his time in the library and hauling piles of books and newspapers to his cell, Gothamist reported in 2020. He also regularly attended Quaker worship services and joined a group pushing for prison reform, according to the report.
Johnson said at the time that he started to sell drugs when he was 11 years old and had already served two terms in prison before he was charged with murder in his 20s. He said he was ashamed of what he had done and was committing his time in prison to mentoring others.
“He exemplifies the capacity for human beings, including those convicted of serious harm, to change our lives and be a positive force in our communities,” Jose DiLenola, clemency campaign director for the Release Aging People in Prison Campaign, said in a statement.
Jermaine Swaby, 41, was 19 when he left a nightclub in Brooklyn and shot Shane Reynolds five times, killing him, according to court records. Swaby argued at trial that he was acting in self defense. He has served more than 22 years of a 25-year-to-life sentence for a second-degree murder conviction.
Joel Rudin, Swaby’s attorney, said in a statement that his client now “bears little resemblance to the impulsive 19-year-old who took a life during a moment of extreme stress.” He said Swaby has earned his GED, become certified in legal research and facilitates discussions about peaceful conflict resolution. Rudin added that young people convicted of crimes “should be held to a different standard of punishment than adults due to their psychosocial immaturity and should be sentenced accordingly.”
Hochul’s office said both Johnson and Swaby “have demonstrated remorse and a commitment to rehabilitation.”
Tagged
new york
public safety
Politics
Kathy Hochul
Samantha Max
Samantha reports on whether New Yorkers feel safe and whether the institutions that are supposed to protect them are working. Before coming to WNYC/Gothamist, she spent three years covering the criminal justice system in Tennessee for Nashville Public Radio. Her reporting on Nashville's police department received multiple awards, including the Daniel Schorr Journalism Prize. Samantha was also part of the inaugural class of Report for America, a service journalism program that sends up-and-coming reporters to local newsrooms across the country. She is a Northwestern University grad, a Baltimore native and fluent in Spanish. Got a tip? Email [email protected] or Signal: samanthamaxwnyc.93.
Read more
Gothamist is funded by sponsors and member donations
Gothamist is funded by sponsors and member donations
MORE news
Bail reform remains major issue in NY governor's race, 7 years after it became law
Repeat offenders are a big talking point in the governor's race.
By
Gino Fanelli
Published Oct 18, 2026 at 7:00 a.m. ET
Man shot and killed on Midtown subway platform Saturday afternoon, NYPD says
Police said they're searching for a person of interest.
By
Ryan Kost
and
Elizabeth Kim
News
Man shot and killed on Midtown subway platform Saturday afternoon, NYPD says
Police said they're searching for a person of interest.
By
Ryan Kost
and
Elizabeth Kim
Have you seen this Yorkie? NYPD looking for adorable pup dognapped from her Queens home
By
Ryan Kost
Being reigning champions is weird for Knicks fans, but we could get used to this.
By
Catalina Gonella
Tompkins Square Park is getting a makeover. Some say it's too much.
By
Willow Higgins
Never miss a story
Catch up on the most important headlines with a roundup of essential NYC stories, delivered to your inbox daily.
Sign upEmail address
By submitting your information, you're agreeing to receive communications from New York Public Radio in accordance with our Terms .