500 signatures reached
To: New York Governor Kathy Hochul, New York State Assembly, New York State Senate
Stop NY Gov. Kathy Hochul from undermining safety, justice, and fairness
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Bail reform has strengthened our communities by allowing thousands of New Yorkers to sleep in their own beds at night, pick their kids up from school and support their families by retaining their jobs—without increasing crime in New York. Rolling back the bail law will condemn more people to dangerous pretrial jailing across the state as deaths in jails have skyrocketed. New Yorkers deserve effective policies that deliver safety, fairness and justice for our communities, such as supportive housing, mental health first responders, substance use programs, and anti-violence programs. This year’s budget must include investments to improve safety and exclude any changes to upend or weaken bail reform, which has been a success.
Why is this important?
New York and perhaps justice movements nationwide have a lot to lose with Governor Hochul’s budget plan to roll back bail reform for a third time.
After resounding calls from communities statewide, New York passed reforms in 2019 to try to hold judges accountable for jailing people based on how much money they have and prevent any more tragedies like Kalief Browder and countless others who have died due to the horrific atrocities of pretrial jailing.
Despite improved court appearance rates and no effect on the crime rate since bail reform—as admitted by Gov. Hochul herself—Hochul insists on reverting New York’s pretrial system backwards beyond where we were before the reforms. As Governor Hochul continues to push a false narrative that justice somehow undermines safety, she robs New Yorkers of true fairness and safety.
Please join us to demand the New York State Assembly and Senate protect these reforms and invest in true community safety. New Yorkers deserve effective policies that deliver safety, fairness and justice for our communities, such as supportive and re-entry housing, mental health first responders, substance use programs, and anti-violence programs.