‘Under the new amendments to the law, Kalief Browder would have been eligible for bail, the prosecutor would have again asked for bail, and bail would have been set. Under the law that just passed, Kalief’s story ends no differently.’
DAs and conservative pols are denouncing criminal justice reforms that, after years of advocacy, were finally adopted in Albany last spring. Bail reform and discovery reform are the focus of the ire.
A priest and a rabbi write, ‘Our traditions teach that when a person is held captive and the value of their freedom is assigned a price tag that they cannot afford,’ the basic teachings of both their faiths are violated.
The sponsor of an Assembly measure that would sharply constrain the use of financial bail says she is optimistic her proposal will become law now that Democrats control the State Senate.
‘Our recommended changes will aim to advance meaningful and substantive remedies that no mainstream politician will currently support. Not because they don’t make sense but because they are too politically charged.’
‘We know that Republicans will not be helpful in our efforts to build a more just society – but Democratic leaders are also letting us down.’
Few argue that a murder conviction should not be followed by a term of incarceration, but, accepting for now the reality of prison, what does that mean in years?