Dear Friend:
Next week, on March 14th, we will be working with Just Leadership USA, Vocal NY, Latino Justice, Citizen Action, and other partner organizations to host a Lobby Day in Albany, where we will demand REAL criminal justice reform by asking our legislators to address the harms that our current pretrial system inflicts on New Yorkers’ lives.
In too many cases, people who are arrested are faced with two options, pay up or stay in jail, which means that, in these cases, freedom is permitted only in exchange for a sum of money. People who have not been charged of any crime make up 67 percent of the average daily population in jails across New York, which strongly suggests that the majority of our jail population is incarcerated due to the size of their bank account. Worse, they are there waiting oftentimes months and years for trial due to trial delays without ever seeing the basic facts of their case until the eve of trial.
So we want to hear from YOU. Don’t miss this powerful opportunity. If you can join us in the fight for REAL criminal justice reform, please do two things: