Those We Have Lost: Mujahid Farid

Mujahid Farid was convicted of attempted murder of a New York City Police Officer in 1978 and subsequently sentenced to 15 years to life in prison. By the 15-year mark, Farid had transformed his life and the lives of those around him. He attained four college degrees, and founded in-prison programs that benefited countless of his incarcerated peers, including New York’s first ever HIV/AIDS peer education program (now facilitated in all 54 NYS prisons). Despite his tremendous rehabilitative endeavors, he was denied parole 9 times over 18 years, exclusively based on the nature of his crime. The Parole Board didn’t care about the value of his work in prison or his minimal risk to public safety, and instead were determined to punish him for the one thing that would never change. Farid was released at his 10th parole board interview after 33 years in prison at 62 years old. Upon release, Farid co-founded the Release Aging People in Prison Campaign and sought to address the crisis of aging people in prison. He died in November 2018 after only seven years of freedom. Had he appeared in front of the Parole Board with Fair and Timely parole, he likely would have been released many years earlier.