Discover and read the best of Twitter Threads about #NoRollBacks
Most recents (6)
(hella long) THREAD on #bailreform & #PoliceViolence
Here’s the deal: last year NY passed bail reform legislation that mandated pretrial freedom for 90% of folks going through the system. It was a huge win for black people, poor people & the movement to end pretrial jailing.
Here’s the deal: last year NY passed bail reform legislation that mandated pretrial freedom for 90% of folks going through the system. It was a huge win for black people, poor people & the movement to end pretrial jailing.
It also SIGNIFICANTLY checked the power of law enforcement to use pretrial jailing as a tool to terrorize black NYers. The reforms meant that tens of thousands of people now couldn’t be jailed and held hostage just based on an arrest.
Pretrial jailing is a direct extension of police power. The #ExoneratedFive, #KaliefBrowder, #LayleenPolanco are all examples of black people who suffered horrible violence and tremendous consequences from being locked up pretrial as a result of racist cops & racist arrests.
Someone at Rikers gave my cell # to others & for a couple of days I’ve been getting calls from people whose loved ones are there. They’ve all said some variation of the same thing — the people there need us to hear what is happening to them. They have asked me to share. THREAD/
The accounts are all very similar. People are sleeping in dorms of 40-50 people, less than 2 feet apart. At the center, they try to sleep head to toe. 2/
In one facility the word “shit” is spelled out on the wall in big letters — written in actual feces. It has been there for days and was mentioned by several callers. 3/
Can’t sleep. People do not appreciate the mass death we’ll see in US jails, prisons, & detention centers unless we mass release people. 2.3 million incarcerated. Hundreds of thousands officers. No ability to distance. Bad med care. 95% return home at some point anyway. Start now.
The scale of US mass incarceration makes the scale of the potential impact of Coronavirus terrifying:
1)US is 5% of world’s population. 25% of all incarcerated
2)More jailed just pretrial than ALL incarcerated in India
3)Quarter of China population. 1/2 million more in prison
1)US is 5% of world’s population. 25% of all incarcerated
2)More jailed just pretrial than ALL incarcerated in India
3)Quarter of China population. 1/2 million more in prison
Resistance by those in power to any release. So start easy. Release those:
-Jailed pretrial for misdemeanors. Nonviolent felonies. “Violent” felonies w/o injury
-Caged on technical (noncriminal) parole/probation violations
-Serving less than 1 yr term for lowlevel offenses
More:
-Jailed pretrial for misdemeanors. Nonviolent felonies. “Violent” felonies w/o injury
-Caged on technical (noncriminal) parole/probation violations
-Serving less than 1 yr term for lowlevel offenses
More:
🚨TODAY: Elected officials across the country are working to get people out of prisons & jails. They'e rapidly becoming hotbeds of COVID-19. Meanwhile, @NYGovCuomo is now calling for bail reform rollbacks that would put thousands MORE NYers in jail. This is shameful. #NoRollbacks 
Now more than ever, incarceration can mean death for too many NYers. So why is @NYGovCuomo pushing for bail reform rollbacks that would send thousands more legally innocent NYers to unsanitary jails and exacerbate the pandemic? We need MORE freedom, not less. #NoRollbacks
.@NYGovCuomo, unlike dozens of elected officials across the country, is trying to lock up more black and brown NYers by rolling back bail reform during an unprecedented pandemic. And he’s holding up the emergency budget process to do it. Has he no shame? #NoRollbacks
As of today people in NY jails & prisons are not allowed to use hand sanitizer. Alcohol content means it’s contraband. Can’t use it. Loved ones can’t send it. But those same people incarcerated by NY are getting paid 65 cents per hour to manufacture it!
By the way, Gov. Cuomo has indicated support to repeal bail reform 2 months after it took effect & change to a system thatd ensure 10000s more jailed. NYC Mayor advocating for same before reform even started. Just another reason to demand #NOROLLBACKS. JusticeNotFear.org
Actually looks like starting “salary” is actually 15 cents/hour. This is slavery.
Met an older man 2+ years ago. Recently diagnosed w/ cancer. Brought from hospital to court. Charged w/ armed robbery. Faced life in prison. Judge did the rare thing. Set bail in an amount he could afford. His wife bought his freedom. Released. What happened may surprise you.
This man was immediately connected w/ a social worker in my office. @BklynDefender is blessed w/ an army of committed social workers. Most defender offices have few or none. He was also connected w/ our reentry team lead by formerly incarcerated leaders. We started to learn more.
This man spent the last 25 out of 35 years or so in prison. In his last 12 year stint though he became a transformational leader. He started a youth mentorship & fatherhood program. Men in & out of prison credited him w/ saving them. The warden advocated his release on parole.
