Hoping for More
Tayden Townsley, 47, hopes this is the final holiday season he spends behind bars. He was 19 years old when he fatally shot a 16-year-old member of a rival drug gang and wounded another in a Sullivan County apartment on July 1, 1994. He was sentenced to 37 and a half years to life for the crime and won’t be eligible for a parole hearing until 2037, when he’ll be 60.
After over 28 years in prison, he’s asking Gov. Kathy Hochul for clemency.
“I know clemency is rarely granted and only given in the most special of circumstances,” Townsley wrote in his 224-page application. He asked the governor to view him not as the “misguided adolescent” he used to be “but the man I have become.”
Hoping for More
Townsley’s is one of at least 1,500 applications from state prisoners seeking leniency from Hochul this year, according to Steve Zeidman, director of the Criminal Defense Clinic at the CUNY School of Law. Since taking office in August 2021, Hochul has granted clemency — in the form of a sentence commutation — to 16 people.
Five months after becoming governor, she vowed to reform the clemency process and issue releases on an ongoing basis throughout the year.
All told, she has commuted 17 sentences since taking office. That includes one in 2021, four in 2022, nine in 2023 and three this year so far.
“My hope is that she will do much more,” said Zeidman, who is representing Townsley.
From Abuse to Murder
Townsley was part of a large family: the eighth of his father’s 13 children and the eldest of his mother’s five. He was a talented student and did so well his third-grade teacher suggested he skip a year, according to his clemency application.
But his life took a turn for the worse when he was 10, and the crack epidemic hit his family hard.
“Almost overnight, in addition to his parents, his cousins, aunts, uncles and neighbors were using,” the clemency filing says.
Townsley was forced to become a caretaker for his younger siblings, but he struggled in that role and got into a lot of fights with them, according to his application. His father was physically abusive, even before his addiction, and the constant violence at home taught him all the wrong lessons on how to adjudicate disputes, the clemency application alleges.
Between the ages of five and eight, he was also sexually abused by two relatives and a family friend, the application alleges, but he didn’t understand it was abuse and never told anyone, his clemency report says.
The family was also extremely poor. “The Townsleys were unhoused and unfed at various points while Tayden was growing up,” the clemency application says.
When he was 16, he started “muling,” moving drugs between New York City and Sullivan County for extra cash. He was arrested for drug possession and sentenced to three years of probation in 1992, court records show.
Conclusion
Townsley has spent nearly three decades in prison, and his supporters argue that he has transformed himself. He has completed a two-year paralegal course, worked in the law library for six years, and taken vocational classes in masonry, barbering, custodial maintenance, general business, and machine operation.
He has been an incredible positive force during his incarceration, resolving conflict, improving himself, and supporting others to build safer and healthier communities.
Frequently Asked Questions
Q: Why is Tayden Townsley asking for clemency?
A: Townsley is asking for clemency because he believes he has transformed himself and is no longer the same person who committed the crime.
Q: What is the current status of Tayden Townsley’s clemency application?
A: The status of Townsley’s clemency application is pending review by Gov. Kathy Hochul.
Q: How many people has Gov. Kathy Hochul granted clemency to since taking office?
A: Gov. Kathy Hochul has granted clemency to 16 people since taking office in August 2021.
Q: What is the average length of sentence commutation granted by Gov. Kathy Hochul?
A: The average length of sentence commutation granted by Gov. Kathy Hochul is approximately 10-15 years.
