This year’s New York State Budget included rollbacks to the bail and discovery reform laws that took effect only three months prior. Pushed for by Governor Cuomo and the Senate Majority, these rollbacks represent a capitulation to racist fear-mongering and a coordinated campaign of opposition led by prosecutors and police across the state. These rollbacks will potentially subject tens of thousands more New Yorkers to pretrial jailing and will take effect in just 90 days when experts predict the coronavirus will still be spreading in New York. In short, these cruel rollbacks will subject people to illness, isolation, and death behind bars during a global health pandemic. The discovery provisions also deny people facing criminal charges access to crucial and potentially exculpatory witness information. These are not small tweaks; these changes represent a significant retreat and will undoubtedly lead to more incarceration and more wrongful convictions.
