Heard Around Town
City & State
Heard Around Town
By Jeff Colin
Criminal justice reform advocates aren’t giving up on bills to eliminate cash bail. The Katal Center for Health, Equity and Justice is releasing one short video per day, from now until the end of the legislative session on June 20, calling on lawmakers to reform New York’s bail system. One of the black-and-white videos features Katal member Donzelle Fyffe. Another, with footage of empty streetscapes, says: “No one should be held in jail simply because they cannot afford to buy their freedom.” The Democratic Assembly majority and state Senate Democrats support changes to reduce the number of New Yorkers in jail awaiting trial, but neither house has passed legislation. Questions remain, such as whether to fully eliminate cash bail, or just eliminate it for certain minor crimes, which Gov. Andrew Cuomo has supported. Though state Senate Republicans say they’re open to changes, any action on controversial bills in the Senate is unlikely with neither party holding a clear majority. Still, Katal’s gabriel sayegh said criminal justice reform groups will be lobbying at the Capitol Tuesday and Wednesday. “This is all part of this final push by groups to see if – despite the odds and the uphill battle of this – if we can’t get something done this session before lawmakers break for summer,” he said.