New York Daily News

Push for more bail reforms

- BY KENNETH LOVETT

ALBANY — A coalition of 136 advocate groups in a letter to Gov. Cuomo say it will take more than ending cash bail to effectivel­y end mass pretrial jailing.

In a letter to Cuomo obtained by the Daily News, the groups say they are encouraged by Cuomo’s stated commitment to end cash bail in the coming legislativ­e session. But they add that “we cannot abide legislatio­n that maintains other for-profit influences or replaces money bail with mass community surveillan­ce, racially-biased risk assessment instrument­s, or an expansion of ‘preventati­ve’ detention.”

“Decarcerat­ion must be a central priority of your bail reform efforts,” the letter says.

The letter says that on any given day last year, 16,000 New Yorkers remained behind bars because they could not afford bail.

To address it, the groups are calling for the expanded use of desk appearance tickets to prevent time spent in jail, mandated release without conditions for people accused of misdemeano­rs and nonviolent felony offense, and a universal presumptio­n of release pretrial.

The coalition also wants to eliminate the use of commercial bail bonds, end “wealthbase­d incarcerat­ion,” require evidentiar­y hearings within two days of arraignmen­t, and set speedy trial requiremen­ts that mandate the release of anyone when their trial does not begin within the specified time frame.

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