Press Statement

With New Data that Bail Reform Has Nearly Halved the Number of Older New Yorkers Detained Pre-Trial in New York City Alone, Advocates Call on Gov. Cuomo and State Legislators to Leave New Bail Law Intact

Across the State, a Drop of Nearly 7,000 People in Local Jails Under Bail Reform Means Far Fewer People Subject to Extreme Risk of COVID-19 Behind Bars

NEW YORK – Today in a press conference, Governor Cuomo again raised the prospect of rollbacks to bail reform in the budget, despite there being no consensus in the legislature. In response, Center for Community Alternatives and Citizen Action released the following statement:

“It is simply unconscionable that Governor Cuomo continues to insist on bail reform rollbacks that would increase incarceration while there is an active and growing public health crisis in jails around the state. Because of bail reform, there are nearly 7,000 fewer people in jails across the state each day — people who have been able to return to their families and jobs and who are not subjected to the extremely high risk of contracting COVID-19 while incarcerated. In New York City alone, there are 330 older New Yorkers who are no longer detained pretrial each day, a decline of nearly half of this particularly vulnerable population. As the Board of Corrections pleads for the release of older New Yorkers, it would be illogical and inhumane to rollback the bail reform law that drove these life-saving declines in unjust pretrial jailing. New York State’s leadership should be laser-focused on coming together to protect our state from a pandemic, while also strengthening the social safety net for the long-term. Changing the bail law to put more legally innocent people in jail before a trial is simply a non-starter.”

Background:

• As of June 2019, before implementation of new bail laws began in earnest, there were 21,372 in jails across New York State. As of February 2020, that number had dropped to 14,555.
• As of June 2019, there were 743 people aged 50 or older detained pre-trial with no parole holds in NYC jails. As of March 22, 2020, that number had dropped to 413 — a decline of 44%.
• On Tuesday, the New York City Board of Correction, which oversees the jails, requested that the city and state “drastically” reduce the number of people in jail.
• During today’s press conference, Governor Cuomo said there was no agreed upon proposal to rollback bail reform: “You have different positions on bail reform. You have the Assembly, you have the Senate, you have my proposal from last year. There are a lot of strong opinions out there on both sides. I just want to see a resolution and progress and I want to see it in the budget.”
• Dr. Ross MacDonald, who runs healthcare in NYC jails, recently wrote on Twitter: “We will put ourselves at personal risk and ask little in return. But we cannot change the fundamental nature of jail. We cannot socially distance dozens of elderly men living in a dorm, sharing a bathroom. Think of a cruise ship recklessly boarding more passengers each day. A storm is coming and I know what I’ll be doing when it claims my first patient. What will you be doing? What will you have done? We have told you who is at risk. Please let as many out as you possibly can.”
• In a recent Dear Colleague letter, legislative Health Committee Chairs Richard Gottfired and Gustavo Rivera wrote: “Jails are uniquely intensive breeding grounds for contagious diseases. Social distancing is virtually impossible in the close quarters of a jail.”