Thread by @ScottHech

I put it all out there in the Daily News today: "As a public defender who has represented thousands in Brooklyn, I can confirm that fearmongering about bail reform are outright lies & distortions. These cynical tactics are part of a long, racist tradition."nydailynews.com/opinion/ny-ope…

"In Jan 2019, a year before new bail reforms went into effect, I met a 64 y/o man. Arrested & charged w/ violent assault on an EMS officer. He was released. And like the majority arrested, charged, & released in NYC *for decades* prior to the bail law, there was no fanfare."

"No reporters were camped out for cases to plaster onto their covers. No photogs to capture images of people in need of help to then deride as “lunatics” or “jailbirds.” Police & prosecutors did not notify media ahead of time to incite fear about "crooks” roaming the streets."

"After my client Mr. Rose's release there was no “chaos.” There was no “disaster.” Far from it, Rose, like tens of thousands of others charged with all types of accusations before the bail laws ever went into effect, was simply trusted to show up to court, and he did. 19 times."

"Mr. Rose has made all appearances, despite serious ailments requiring a cane. At liberty, he retained his doctors & housing. No rearrests. Able to maintain his innocence. Better able to assist me in his defense without the pressure to that plead pretrial detention imposes."

"This man's experience is not unique. Public defenders know what release looks like, even for those charged w/ violent felonies. No “mayhem.” Instead: keeping families together; fostering jobs & productivity; saving taxpayer money; safeguarding health, freedom & public safety."

Facts: "Release instead of locking people up on bail they cannot possibly afford doesn't mean "disaster" like prosecutors and police want you to believe. It means an overwhelmingly likely (95%) return rate and overwhelmingly unlikely (2%) re-arrest rate for violent felonies."

Lies: "Yet NY police & prosecutors, often partnering w/ the media, are now working overtime cherry-picking outlier cases & stoking fear to make it seem like releasing people, who are innocent until proven guilty, before their trial is some “wrong & insane” concept w/o precedent."

No different than George Wallace. In "progressive" NY today: "These cynical tactics, designed to maintain power & perpetuate unfairness & oppression at the expense of poor people predominately from black & Latinx communities, are part of a long racist tradition of fearmongering."

LISTEN TO TRUTH: "Reject the fear and listen to this reality: New York bail reform is no more than a continuation of the measured, steady decline in those detained pretrial that has, in turn, paralleled a significant drop in crime rates." How significant?

Lies by prosecutors & police: Releasing people will make us less safe!!

Proven Facts: "In NYC, jail rates have decreased by 74% over the last 3 decades, from 21,674 in 1991 to 5,674 as of Jan. 21, 2020, major felony crimes have simultaneously dropped by nearly 82%."

What now?

Prosecutors are predicting horrors. But that's preposterous. There's no need for predictions: "New Yorkers should not give any credence to the exaggerated worst-case scenarios of police & prosecutors. We’ve already seen the truth. The truth is lives & money saved, public safety."

We've seen what reform looks like: "For years, under
@BrooklynDA weve been practicing what bail law now requires: Consenting to release for most people charged w/ misdemeanors & non-violent felonies. In the same period, violent crime rate has plummeted."brooklyneagle.com/articles/2020/…

@BrooklynDA Prosecutors & police now calling to return discretion to judges. No thank you. "For decades public defenders saw what that looked like. Despite NY having one of the most progressive bail laws in the country judges routinely & purposefully set bail that people could not afford."

@BrooklynDA What discretion actually looked like: "Thousands of people locked up, pretrial, presumed innocent, & only bc they were poor. The problem was not the previous bail law NY had. It was trusting that most judges would follow its words & spirit." *This is why bail reform was critical.

@BrooklynDA "But fear is powerful. When used effectively, particularly in election years, it can all too easily create political desire to pass harsh, costly & irrational laws w/ an outsized & devastating impact on the people & communities I serve. Or in this case, roll back modest reforms."

@BrooklynDA "Now, sensing fear is winning, police & prosecutors are calling to give judges, for first time in NY history, discretion to jail people by trying to predict "dangerousness," a position already rejected by Albany lawmakers as likely to exacerbate racism." themarshallproject.org/2019/07/01/can…

@BrooklynDA Please hear me out here on adding dangerousness: "Ending cash bail doesn't require a brand new mechanism to incarcerate people pretrial. Armed w/ even more power & discretion to do so, most judges will do so. We know this from experience." A few examples from just last week here:

@BrooklynDA "Just last week, I stood next to a parentless teen charged w/ gun possession, a violent felony under NY law. Released since August. No new arrests. Actively engaged w/ a youth social worker from my office, @BklynDefender. He would have been deemed “dangerous” and detained."

@BrooklynDA @BklynDefender "Last week, I worked w/ a man charged w/ a misdemeanor. Needed housing, family & mental health services. Since his release in July 2019, back to court 6x. Now connected w/ a social worker & housing attorney. Getting help. Easily could have been deemed dangerous and detained."

@BrooklynDA @BklynDefender Back where I began: "Mr. Rose, the man charged w/ violent felony assault, also could've been held in jail if judges were empowered to try to predict future behavior. Jailed for the duration of his case w/ substandard health care, I believe he wouldn't have made it out alive."

@BrooklynDA @BklynDefender Please understand the history of this all. Let us not make the same mistake we always do: "Reactive criminal justice policy driven by outlier cases, stoked by fear tinged by racism is how we got into the current crisis of mass incarceration. We must have patience for change."

@BrooklynDA @BklynDefender Don't let this happen: "If we allow fear to triumph over truth and reason, the effort to “roll back” the bail laws could make matters worse than the conditions that drove New York lawmakers to reform the bail law in the first place."

@BrooklynDA @BklynDefender Dear @nydems: "Our lawmakers must stand proudly, assured they took this step towards basic human dignity. The right to be at liberty before one’s trial takes place will soon be seen as a basic human right. Let us all stand together & support this first step in that direction."

Please visit JusticeNotFear.org to reject fear, spread the truth, call lawmakers to stand firm on bail reform, report fearmongering media, & more.