New York replaces 'inmate' with 'incarcerated individual' to 'reduce harmful stigma'

Kathy Hochul/Twitter

New York State, under the guidance of Gov. Kathy Hochul, is set to replace the word “inmate” in state law in favour of a more politically correct term.

Under the new law, police and the courts will no longer refer to prisoners as “inmates,” and will instead call them “incarcerated individuals. “

Arguing that the term “inmate” is dehumanizing, the Democratic governor signed legislation to “reduce harmful stigma against incarcerated people by correcting outdated terminology.”

“In New York, we’re doing everything in our power to show that justice and safety can go hand-in-hand,” Hochul said, Fox News reported.

“We can make our streets and communities safer by giving justice-involved individuals the chance to complete their rehabilitation program and work at the same time. By treating all New Yorkers with dignity and respect, we can improve public safety while ensuring New Yorkers have a fair shot at a second chance,” she added.

The legislation, which was sponsored by Democrat State Sen. Gustavo Rivera, is designed to end bias against prison inmates as crime throughout the state continues to go up, thanks largely to bail reform laws in New York cities that release felons back onto the street hours after arrest.

“For too long, we as a society have thought of incarcerated individuals as less than people,” Rivera said. “The use of the word ‘inmate’ further dehumanizes and demoralizes them. This is another concrete step our State is taking to make our criminal justice system one that focuses on rehabilitation, rather than relying solely on punishment.”

Similar laws have been passed in Democrat-run cities, including San Francisco which rebranded convicted felons as “justice-involved persons” in 2019.

Other efforts have been made to rebrand terms like “mother” with “birthing people” and “breastfeeding” as “chest-feeding.”

The media has also joined suit by rebranding riots from those particularly those involving Black Lives Matter and Antifa activists as “mostly peaceful protests.”