News
20 leading criminal justice groups call on Governor Hochul to abandon unnecessary, counterproductive ‘Ten-Point Plan’
Today, Osborne and 19 other leading criminal justice reform groups across New York state sent Governor Kathy Hochul a letter urging her to protect the progress achieved on Raise the Age, Bail, and Discovery reform.
For Immediate Release
March 23, 2022
Contact: Mitch Schwartz, 914-330-1026
20 LEADING CRIMINAL JUSTICE GROUPS CALL ON GOVERNOR HOCHUL TO ABANDON UNNECESSARY, COUNTERPRODUCTIVE ‘TEN-POINT PLAN’
NEW YORK – Twenty leading criminal justice reform groups across New York today sent Governor Kathy Hochul a letter demanding she abandon the ‘ten-point plan’ that would roll back five years of progress toward finally dismantling our state’s decades-long legacy of mass incarceration. The groups, which have decades of experience helping predominantly Black, brown, poor, and immigrant communities navigate an unfair criminal justice system, noted that the Governor’s plan would send more New Yorkers into the justice system as New York City’s jails are falling even deeper into crisis.
Open Letter to Governor Hochul and the Legislature to Protect Essential Criminal Legal Reforms and Invest in Proven Community Safety Solutions
We, the undersigned, are organizations with decades of experience working with New Yorkers involved in the criminal legal system. We write to express our deep dismay regarding Governor Hochul’s recently revealed ten-point plan. These proposals seek to roll back the last five years of progress toward dismantling New York’s decades-long legacy of mass incarceration that decimated Black, brown, poor, and immigrant communities.
Governor Hochul’s plan introduces either unnecessary legislative tweaks where none are needed or counterproductive solutions that poorly address reasonable public safety concerns. The proposed amendments to bail, discovery, and Raise the Age are not evidence-based interventions and will not increase community safety. Her plan will, however, result in an explosion in the incarceration of New Yorkers, particularly poor people and people of color, at a time when New York City’s jails are falling ever deeper into crisis and statewide jail populations are already rising.
Instead of pushing polices that will harm individuals and communities, New York should invest in solutions with a proven track record in addressing crime, including community violence intervention, alternatives-to-incarceration, mental health and substance use disorder services, and education, employment, and housing supports.
We call on Governor Hochul, Lieutenant Governor Benjamin, and the leaders of the Legislature to protect the progress that has been achieved in reducing wealth-based detention, the prosecution of children as adults, and a system that unfairly prosecuted defendants without providing fair access to the evidence leveraged against them. Instead, we ask that New York invests in evidence-based measures that improve public safety and uplift communities without relying on kneejerk policies that fuel incarceration and punishment.
Signed,
Bard Prison Initiative
Bronx Connect (Urban Youth Alliance)
CASES
Center for Community Alternatives
Center for Court Innovation
Center for Employment Opportunities
College & Community Fellowship
Correctional Association of New York
The Doe Fund
EAC Network
Exodus Transitional Community
The Fortune Society
Hour Children
Hudson Link for Higher Education in Prison
John Jay College Institute for Justice and Opportunity
Legal Action Center
Osborne Association
Peaceprints of WNY
Vera Institute of Justice
Women’s Prison Association
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