Thread by @ScottHech

Real bail horror story: Miguel was jailed on $1500 bail for a suspended license. Lost job. Suffered horror of Rikers. Couldnt get another job. Had to move out of NY w/ his family. Thanks to bail reform now in effect, this won’t ever happen to someone again.

Prosecutors claim new bail laws will lead to “mayhem.” Paul was jailed for 20 days on bail for misdemeanor assault. “I lost all my stuff. Me & my son, we struggling. I had a job. Now I don’t. He just recently had a birthday. I couldn’t buy him nothing.”

Police disseminating lists of scary sounding crimes like burglary. I represented this man after stealing redbulls & cigarettes from a deli. Charged w/ burglary. Spent 9 months on Rikers bc he couldn’t pay $7500. Arrested today, he’d be released & get needed services instead.

.@nypost disparages people as “Jailbirds.” Marvin spent 11 months on Rikers. For drug possession. Prosecutors withheld the most critical piece of evidence: drug lab. The pressure to plead got better of him. Today, it is illegal to jail people like Marvin.

“Criminals!” Tammy, struggling w/ addiction, pled guilty 16x to crimes on *same day of arrest* fearful bail might be set. Now, no one has to make the decision again at first appearance whether to plead guilty just to avoid jail time. They’ll be released.

“Streets filled w/ blood,” they warn. A man stole some bikes to support family. Down & out. Disabled. Charged w/ “violent” burglary bc lobbies considered “dwellings.” 1st arrest. Bail: $20k. Jailed 15 days. Attacked while trying to call his wife. Traumatized. Just needed help.

“Jail break!” Akeem. 9 months on Rikers while prosecutor withheld video evidence that ultimately helped win his case. The person on video not him. *NY law* allowed this. New bail & discovery reforms will reduce pretrial detention & wrongful convictions.

Last year, common sense prevailed in NY. Based on reason. Not fear. A continuation of the measured, steady decline in those jailed pretrial. Ending cash bail for misdemeanors & non-violent felonies. Violent felonies still bail eligible. These reforms save lives & make NY safer.

Prosecutors & police are terrified about common sense bail reforms. Not bc the status quo is fair or deters “crime.” It doesn’t. Jail costs a fortune, separates families, & increases recidivism. They fight change bc it threatens their power. So they’re using fear.

Police & prosecutors know that if the law lasts for even a month, let alone more, data will show better outcomes overall. The public will be able to peak behind the curtain. See the lies they’ve been selling for decades. The law thus must be defeated. Not allowed to work.

So police & prosecutors cherry pick outlier cases, like the antisemitic attacks that occurred *before* the laws even took effect, to blame on bail reform. Leak scary sounding arrests to press before a person even meets their attorney. They’re coordinated. They’re committed.

It’s all smoke & mirrors. For every outlier, horrific incident, there are tens of thousands of less serious cases. Not just misdemeanors & non-violent felonies. Violent felonies too (still bail eligible). Vast majority don’t get rearrested while released. Under 2% for violence.

Decades of making criminal legal policies based on extreme outlier cases has shown the costly folly & devastation of that approach. NY *finally bucked that trend. Legislators & @NYGovCuomo followed reason. Not fear. So guess who’s scared now? Those who depend on incarceration.

Snapshot of the system NY police/prosecutors are fighting to perpetuate:

87% cant afford bail set
89% on Rikers Black/Latino
100% jailed too poor to buy freedom
95% of people return w/o bail
$925/nt cost of Rikers
$338k/yr a person
9x more likely to plea

If we don’t give changes to the status quo of mass punishment a chance, if we instead listen & react to cynical scare tactics of pro-carceral bureaucrats, we are doomed.
Let us have patience for change. If we don’t, nothing ever will.