FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Friday, April 7, 2022
Contact: Yonah Zeitz, yonah@katalcenter.org | (347) 201-2769
Follow on Twitter @KatalCenter | #BailReformNY
Katal Opposes NY Budget That Rolls Back Bail Reform
The 2022 New York State Budget Will Lead to More New Yorkers Being Incarcerated Pretrial
Albany, NY: Today, the New York State Legislature is voting on the 2022 State Budget. Included in this budget are rollbacks to bail reform, along with other criminal justice reform rollbacks.
Statement from Yonah Zeitz, Director of Advocacy, Katal Center for Equity, Health, and Justice.
“It is unconscionable for Governor Hochul and legislative leaders to choose fear-based politics over facts in this year’s budget. This entire budget process has been shrouded in secrecy. We are deeply disappointed to see Governor Hochul take a page out of former Governor Cuomo’s playbook by ramming policies in the budget that will lead to more people, mostly Black and Brown people, being jailed across the state. Purposely avoiding an open and transparent public debate on the budget is bad public policy. The success of bail reform is in the data — bail reform is working for public safety and justice which makes it ever more abhorrent to include these meritless proposals in the budget. In addition to pushing so-called “tough on crime” policies, this budget also fails to address the housing crisis, provide immigrant children with childcare, expand health care coverage for all New Yorkers, and other much needed reforms to make our communities thrive. We reject the budget as it does not promote our values of equity, health, and justice and is the wrong direction for New York. We urge the New York Legislature to vote NO on the budget and reject the racist fearmongering and manufactured hysteria that is driving these regressive proposals. Do not roll back bail reform. Do not roll back discovery reform and the other criminal justice reforms that do not and have never made communities safe. We call on the Governor and Legislature to continue to decarcerate, close more prisons and jails, and invest in real safety: housing, health care, education, and jobs.”
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