Tag Archives: George Pataki

Strategies for Effective Advocacy in Criminal Justice Reform

Posted on September 15, 2025 by William Eric Waters, aka Easy Waters

The four-part series on a successful advocacy campaign led by formerly incarcerated people, and the accompanying research blogs, in one place. Continue reading →

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The Anatomy of Advocacy, Part 1: How “Tough on Crime” Politics Reshaped Justice in New York

Posted on August 13, 2025 by William Eric Waters, aka Easy Waters

How Governor Pataki’s ‘tough on crime’ agenda and Jenna’s Law reshaped parole and sentencing in New York—and set the stage for grassroots reform. Continue reading →

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The Anatomy of Advocacy – In High Heels

Posted on March 25, 2022 by William Eric Waters, aka Easy Waters

In 1998, the New York State Legislature passed Jenna’s law, named after Jenna Grieshaber, a 22-year-old white female nursing student killed by Nicholas Eugene Pryor, a Black male who had previously been on parole.  Governor Pataki exploited Jenna’s tragic death … Continue reading →

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“The Justice Imperative” — The Key to Criminal Justice Reform

Posted on January 24, 2015 by William Eric Waters, aka Easy Waters

The Justice Imperative: How Hyper-Incarceration Has Hijacked the American Dream, is a book about the criminal justice and corrections system in Connecticut, but it is also a book about the criminal justice and corrections systems in the country, by the … Continue reading →

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Mario the Magician

Posted on January 2, 2015 by William Eric Waters, aka Easy Waters

Mario Cuomo, former three-term governor of New York, dead at 82. Mario Cuomo was an eloquent spokesperson for not only liberal democrats but also for social justice. Nonetheless, he was a good, not a great, governor. Greatness did not elude … Continue reading →

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Waiting for Parole — Between Hope and Despair

Posted on July 19, 2014 by William Eric Waters, aka Easy Waters

One of the most powerful forces is hope, oftentimes counterbalanced by despair.  In the criminal justice system, nothing inspires more hope than the possibility of being granted and being released to parole supervision.  On the other hand, nothing drops one … Continue reading →

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A New Paradigm – Elevating the Voice of Formerly Incarcerated People

Posted on May 7, 2014 by William Eric Waters, aka Easy Waters

With the recent launch of JustLeadershipUSA, Glenn Martin, President and Founder of JustLeadershipUSA, is looking to elevate the voice of Americans impacted by crime and incarceration, especially people who have been imprisoned, by positioning them as “informed, empowered reform partners.”  … Continue reading →

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Andrew the Ambitious

Posted on April 3, 2014 by William Eric Waters, aka Easy Waters

Nearly two months ago, when Andrew Cuomo, New York’s Governor, announced that he would use public money to finance higher education in prison, in some quarters people thought that the state was finally wising up and was going to be … Continue reading →

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My September 2011 Editorial from The Deuce Club* –“The Re-entry World Just Got a Little Larger”

Posted on September 3, 2011 by William Eric Waters, aka Easy Waters

There’s this joke among insiders inside the re-entry world, that when you go to these re-entry conferences and the like, that you see “the usual suspects.” This speaks to the fact that there’s a small passionate group committed to doing … Continue reading →

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