2025

June: Victory! Katal & our allies win passage of legislation to overhaul the State Commission on Corrections – the government watchdog agency with oversight and investigative authority over jails and prisons throughout New York. 

2025

May: Victory! After years of organizing on the streets, and powerful work by allies in the courts, a federal court took over Rikers and decided to appoint an independent receiver to address the violence and dysfunction that has persisted for a decade. See our full release about it here.

2025

March: We held Cultivating Justice’s third Growing Power conference at the Artists Collective in Hartford, with over 200 participants.

2025

February: In the face of growing authoritarianism from the new administration, we launch our weekly Pro-Democracy Phone Zaps, creating a place for our community members to plug in and connect with their elected representatives.

2024

December: Our #ShutRikers canvassing project reaches 150,000 doors across all five boroughs of NYC.

2024

October: We hosted the second Harvest Change conference in Bloomfield, CT.

2024

July: We partner with Harlem-based Brotherhood/Sister-Sol to train youth organizers and canvass more than 5,000 doors in Harlem for the #ShutRikers campaign.

2024

July: Our #ShutRikers canvassing project reaches more than 100,000 doors in NYC, across all five boroughs.

2024

May: We score a victory when the NY State Senate passes our bill to overhaul the State Commission of Corrections. The bill dies in the Assembly but we’ve built momentum for the year ahead.

2024

February: We held the second Growing Power conference with more than 300 participants, also in Middletown, Connecticut.

2024

January: As part of our #ShutRikers campaign, we begin work on overhauling an obscure state watchdog agency with oversight and investigative powers over all prisons and jails in New York – the State Commission on Correction.

2023

December: The #ShutRikers project reaches 30,000 doors canvassed across all five boroughs.

2023

May: With our partners at the Prison Policy Initiative, we publish a new report about probation and parole in Connecticut – Excessive, Unjust, and Expensive: Fixing Connecticut’s Probation and Parole Problems. The report is widely covered in the press and launches our probation reform campaign in the state.

2023

February: Through Cultivating Justice, we hold the first Growing Power conference in Middletown with over 200 participants.

2023

February: Katal ramps up efforts to keep the Connecticut Juvenile Training School — a former youth prison — closed.

2022

December: With our partners at Unchained, we released the 2nd report on the implementation of the #LessIsMoreNY parole reform act.

2022

November: As part of our #ShutRikers campaign, we launched an effort to call on the federal court to appoint an independent receiver to take control at Rikers, to improve conditions and save lives until the facility was shut down.

2022

Fall: We co-founded and launched Cultivating Justice in Connecticut.

2022

August: We launch our new #ShutRikers outreach project, aiming to canvass thousands of doors across the city to speak with New Yorkers about the fight to shut Rikers.

2022

March: With our partners at Unchained, we release the first status report on the imple-mentation of the Less Is More parole reform act.

Check out the press release we issued with the #LessIsMoreNY campaign, which includes statements from elected officials, allies, and our members.

2021

September: Immediately after the #LessIsMore parole reforms are signed into law, we organize a big rally at City Hall to demand the city cut the number of people in jails, shut Rikers, and invest in real community safety: housing, healthcare, education, jobs.

2021

September: Governor Kathy Hochul signs the Less is More Act into law and 200 people are immediately released from Rikers Island. Over time, the number of people incarcerated at Rikers for noncriminal technical parole violations drops by 99%, and the number of people on parole statewide will be cut in half. Here’s the governor’s page about the bill signing, with members of the #LessIsMoreNY coalition on stage.

2021

June: Victory in New York! With our partners at Unchained, A Little Piece of Light, and a massive coalition, we passed the Less is More Parole Reform Act, which will, once implemented, cut the number of people in New York on parole in half and helped lead to the closure of six prisons.

2021

Spring: In response to efforts by CT Governor Ned Lamont to re-open a youth prison for immigration detention, Katal fights back to keep the prison closed, and to shutter more prisons. We launch a series of community conversations in about our #CutShutInvest campaign, and stop Lamont.

2021

February: Katal launches our #CutShutInvest campaign. We aim to CUT the number of people incarcerated in jails and prisons, and under community supervision; SHUT down jails and prisons, and INVEST in real community safety: housing, health care, education, jobs.

2021

January: With our partners in New York, we co-convene a forum of Manhattan DA candidates to learn about their positions on decarceration, including parole and sentencing reform.

2020

December: We published our 2020 Update & Wrap Up – a summary of our activities throughout a turbulent year.

2020

October: Joined by a brass band and our #LessIsMoreNY allies, Katal members lead an in-person and online protest at the governor’s office in Manhattan.

2020

July: With allied groups, Katal members–including dozens of family members of incarcerated individuals–convened outside the Connecticut State Capitol for a rally and speak-out to demand that Governor Lamont and the legislature address COVID-19 in correctional facilities during their special session.

2020

April & May: In partnership with Community Catalyst, we hosted two national virtual gatherings about weathering COVID-19, and cultivating solidarity across issue-areas.

2020

April : In these first months of COVID-19, we worked with artist Josh MacPhee to produce these #FreeThemNow posters (poster 1, poster 2), calling for release of people from jails and prisons. We publicized these posters and offered to send them free to groups around the – we received a large response and distributed hundreds of these posters to advocates in dozens of states across the country.

2020

April: As part of our #FreeThemNow campaign, we organized a car caravan protest outside the mansion of Connecticut Governor Ned Lamont, to bring attention to incarcerated people being left to die in prisons and jails in the midst of COVID.

2020

March: As COVID rates continue to spike, Katal and our partners in the #LessIsMoreNY coalition win the release of approximately 1,100 people detained in jails across New York on noncriminal technical parole violations.

2020

March: At the start of the COVID-19 pandemic, Katal launches the #FreeThemNow campaigns in Connecticut and New York, to demand the release of people from jails and prisons in order to save lives.

2020

February: Efforts to defend bail reform expand as Katal and our allies join with New York Public Advocate Jumaane Williams to launch a series of community information sessions across NYC, focused on the facts about bail reform and mass incarceration. The first event is held at the Van Dyke Community Center in Brownsville, Brooklyn.

2020

January: To defend bail reform against growing attacks by pro-incarceration forces, Katal joins with dozens other groups to rally at New York City Hall, calling on lawmakers to oppose any rollbacks.

2020

January: Katal and our partners in the #LessIsMoreNY coalition convened at the State Capitol for a day of action to demand that lawmakers and Governor Cuomo pass parole reform. Directly impacted people, advocates, and former and current correctional and law enforcement officials met with legislators throughout the day. The day culminated in a joint rally with the Repeal the Walking While Trans Ban Coalition on the steps of the Million Dollar Staircase.

2020

January: Katal resigns from the Albany LEAD program.

2020

January: We kick off the year with a powerful member meeting in Hartford, Connecticut.

2019

December: Katal co-founders, Lorenzo Jones and gabriel sayegh, publish Grassroots Movements are Needed to End Mass Incarceration, an op-ed in City Limits. The article addresses the growing, troublesome influence of billionaires in the criminal justice reform field.

2019

October: Victory! NYC Council votes “YES” on the plan to close Rikers. Additionally, Katal and our allies won a package of nearly $400 million in investments to support local communities and expand justice reforms like alternatives to incarceration. In the lead-up to the council vote, we published an article by Katal’s co-executive director gabriel sayegh, “Making Sense of the Fight Over NYC Jails”, addressing some of the tensions in the movement over the city’s plan.

2019

June: Victory! Connecticut becomes the third state in the country to pass legislation implement evidenced-based opioid treatment programs in jails and prisons — we were proud to be part of the effort to pass this measure.

2019

April: Victory! After a years-long fight by Katal and our partners, the state legislature passed comprehensive bail reform legislation. The proposal is based on the measure sponsored by Assemblymember Latrice Walker and passed by the state assembly in 2018. The reforms lead to a dramatic reduction in the number of people in New York county jails detained pretrial. For more background, we wrote two pieces explaining the fight over bail reform: Part 1, and Part 2.

2019

May: The Queens Daily Eagle publishes “Parole Reform Movement Gains Traction Statewide After Years of Advocacy,” a detailed article highlighting the work of Katal and our partners at Unchained and the Columbia Justice Lab to pass the #LessIsMoreNY parole reform act.

2019

February: At a packed press conference at Brooklyn Law School, Katal and our partners launch the Less is More New York parole reform coalition. The growing #LessIsMoreNY coalition will work to pass the Less Is More Act, reforming how New York handles noncriminal, technical violations of parole. The event includes NYC’s district attorneys, state lawmakers, advocacy groups, three of and people directly impacted by parole. Check out the press release with quotes from participants, here.

2019

January: We publish our Connecticut Criminal Justice Field Scan, which draws on extensive research, surveys, and nearly 40 interviews with stakeholders across the state. The Scan provided meaningful insights into the criminal justice reform space in Connecticut.

2018

December: With our partners at Unchained and the Columbia Justice Lab, we announce new legislation to reform the state’s antiquated parole system and improve reintegration of formerly incarcerated New Yorkers to society. The Less is More: Community Supervision Revocation Reform Act is a comprehensive, transformative proposal that addresses the problems of how technical violations in the parole system lead to reincarceration. Press release, with bill description, here. #LessIsMoreNY

2018

October: Katal staff attend and speak at the Harm Reduction Coalition Conference in New Orleans.

2018

September: Katal staff attend the Formerly Incarcerated and Convicted People and Families Movement (FIPCFM) Conference in Orlando, Florida.

2o18

August: Katal and our partners in the End Overdose NY Coalition hold a rally and speak-out at the New York State Capitol to observe International Overdose Awareness Day.

2o18

June: Katal leads passage of a transformative bail reform proposal through the New York State Assembly, sponsored by Assemblywoman Latrice Walker of Brooklyn. While the bill did not pass the Senate that year, it set the stage for the bail reform that passed both chambers in 2019.

2018

March: Katal leads effort to again pass the speedy trial reform bill — known as Kalief’s Law — through the state assembly. The state senate does not pass the proposal

2o18

March: With the Participatory Budgeting Project and other organizations, Katal co-hosts and speaks at the Innovations in Participatory Democracy Conference in Phoenix, to explore new ideas to empower community members to directly participate in government.

2o18

March: Katal staff attend and speak at the Building Bridges: Reframed conference, about the drug war and Connecticut’s overdose crisis, held at Central Connecticut State University.

2o18

February: Katal publishes our Guide to Bail Reform in New York, laying out key principles for reform.

2o18

January: Katal launches the Connecticut Monthly Statewide Criminal Justice Reform Calls.

2018

January: We host an event to launch two new reports from the Justice Lab at Columbia University, about why the probation and parole systems need radical overhaul. Check out the event recap here.

National report: Too big to succeed: The Impact of the Growth of Community Corrections and What Should Be Done About It

New York Report: Less is More in New York: An Examination of the Impact of State Parole Violations on Prison and Jail Populations.

2018

January: We published “Reflections and Lessons from the First Two Phases of the #CLOSErikers Campaign: August 2015 – August 2017.”

2017

December 12th: Katal hosts “Toward Justice: The History and Future of Criminal Justice Reform in CT.” Over 200 people attended the evening event which was held at the Artists Collective in Hartford. Here’s the program, with speakers, sponsors, and supporters.

2017

December 5th and 6th: Katal hosts “Toward Justice: Reducing Harm and Improving Health and Safety” in Albany, New York. Nearly 300 people attended, from across New York. Here’s the program book, which includes the speakers, sponsors, and supporters.

2017

September: Katal participates in the March for Justice. Led by the Alliance of Families for Justice, the march travels 180 miles from Harlem to Albany, raising awareness of human rights abuses in prisons throughout NY – and to call for the closure of Attica.

2017

June: Katal’s co-founder Lorenzo Jones gives a keynote at the 2017 Opioid Misuse and Overdose Prevention Summit in Raleigh, North Carolina

2017

May: Katal’s co-founders, gabriel sayegh and Lorenzo Jones, facilitate a strategic planning retreat for the Formerly Incarcerated, Convicted People and Families Movement (FICPFM).

2017

May: Katal co-founder Melody Lee joins Michelle Alexander on stage. The conversation was part of a series entitled, “A New Vision for Justice in America: Justice Beyond Prisons,” organized by the Park Avenue Armory in collaboration with Common Justice.

2017

May: Katal staff attend and speak at the Harm Reduction International (HR17) conference in Montreal.

2017

April: In our capacity as the facilitator of the Albany LEAD policy coordinating group, we produce and publish a report on the first year of the program – showing promising results in diverting people from arrest and incarceration.

2017

March: Victory! The #CLOSErikers campaign—that we built and co-led with JustLeadershipUSA—scores a major victory when Mayor Bill de Blasio announces that the official policy of New York City would be to close Rikers. See the press release here.

2017

February: At our 1-year anniversary, we publish a summary of our first year.

2017

January: We publish our Summary of Select Reports & Papers
on Criminal Justice Reform as a resource for the movement.

2017

January: We launch the monthly Statewide Criminal Justice Reform Calls in New York.

2017

January: We launch BLOC monthly organizer roundtables in Connecticut, brining organizers together for training, coaching, and peer support.

2016

October: Katal produces the event launch for a new report, “Better by Half: The New York Story for Winning Large-Scale Decarceration While Increasing Public Safety.” Read the event recap (with program book) here.

2016

October: Katal staff and our partners from the LEAD National Support Bureau travel to Amsterdam to attend and present on multiple panels about pre-arrest diversion at the International Law Enforcement and Public Health Conference. 

2016

September: With our partners at JustLeadershipUSA, we organize a march and rally through Queens to the foot of the bridge to Rikers Island jail Complex — nearly 1,000 people participate, calling on the city to #CLOSErikers.

2016

June: We pass Kalief’s Law (speedy trial reform) through the NY State Assembly. It’s a big step – but the State Senate fails to act.

2016

April: With our partners at JustLeadershipUSA, we launch the Close Rikers campaign with a big rally on the steps of City Hall in Manhattan.

2016

April: Katal and our partners at the Public Defender Association of Seattle announce the launch of the LEAD National Support Bureau to provide technical assistance to pre-arrest diversion projects across the country.

2016

March: At the end of March, the Albany LEAD (Law Enforcement Assisted Diversion) Program launches, with Katal serving as facilitator of the policy coordinating group.

2016

March 19-25: Katal hosts delegates from North and South America for a weeklong, 5-city tour of the U.S. to meet with local leaders and discuss the growing worldwide movement to end the failed war on drugs: Atlanta, Denver, Seattle, Chicago, and New York City. The tour came just weeks before the United Nations General Assembly Special Session (UNGASS) on the World Drug Problem.

2016

March: We jump in to efforts to pass speedy trial reform. The reform proposal is called Kalief’s Law in the wake of the death of Kalief Browder. This pretrial reform would expedite court processing times, essential to closing Rikers.

2016

February: Katal publicly launches.

2015

Katal is founded by Lorenzo Jones, Melody Lee, and gabriel sayegh.