FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Thursday, March 30, 2023
Contact: Yonah Zeitz, yonah@katalcenter.org | (347) 201-2769
Follow on Twitter @KatalCenter | #CutShutInvestNY | #CloseRikers
Directly Impacted People and Families Rally in Albany to Oppose Gov. Hochul’s Proposal to Roll Back Bail Reform
Hochul’s Outrageous Proposal Will Fill Jails Across the State and Undermine Efforts to Shutter Rikers Island
Albany, NY: Today, Katal joined dozens of groups, impacted people, and families to rally in Albany against Governor Hochul’s proposal to roll back bail reform. Hochul’s awful proposal, if enacted, would lead to more Black, brown, and local-income New Yorkers being incarcerated pretrial, including at the notorious Rikers Island Jail Complex. At the rally, participants demanded the legislature reject the governor’s terrible proposal and pass a budget that continues to decarcerate, close more prisons and jails like Rikers Island, and invest in real safety: housing, health care, education, and jobs.
Statement by Yonah Zeitz the Director of Advocacy at the Katal Center for Equity, Health, and Justice:
“At this point, everyone in Albany knows how the inherent unfairness and cruelty of the cash bail system undermines the promise of safety and equal justice. And the data has repeatedly shown that bail reform is working and must not be rolled back anymore. Yet the governor has joined in racialized fearmongering and put forth a proposal to outright gut bail and send more Black, brown, and low-income to jails across the state, including the deadly Rikers Island, simply because they cannot afford to buy their freedom. Rikers is in total meltdown, and city jails are seeing the highest rate of death of incarcerated people than at any point in the last 25 years, yet Gov. Hochul seems fixed on sending even more New Yorkers to be jailed there. It’s indefensible. Gov. Hochul’s proposal is outrageous and for the sake of fairness, justice, and truth, must be rejected. New York must invest in real community safety: housing, health care, education, jobs. Now.”
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