Issue Position: Criminal Justice Reform

Issue Position

Mass incarceration is a civil rights crisis in the United States. The United States incarcerates people at a rate seven times higher than the European average, as a result of the rise of overly punitive policies in conjunction with the gutting of social services. Furthermore, low-income individuals and people of color are overrepresented in our jails and prisons. In fact, almost half of prisoners in New York are African American, despite the fact that they make up only 14% of the population overall. The effects of incarceration spread far beyond the individual, profoundly affecting families and communities in a vicious, debilitating cycle.

We can - and must - do better. In Tompkins County I have pushed to implement ambitious criminal justice reforms, which are working - reducing the incarceration rate while enhancing public safety. Tompkins County's incarceration rate is under one-third of the national average, thanks to the evidence-based alternatives to incarceration and robust reentry program that we've put in place. We must make these reforms the standard practice in New York State.

I will work in the NYS Assembly to make bold change, including:

Increased use of drug and mental health courts, and other alternatives to incarceration to divert people from the criminal justice system

The expansion of reentry programs, which connect folks returning from jail or prison with social services, mental health and substance abuse treatment, employment preparation, and other tailored resources

Development of prison programming, including education and mental health services

Support for families with incarcerated loved ones, including funding for no-cost buses to prisons and placement of incarcerated individuals in facilities near their families

Lowering the costs of commissary, phone calls, and other services in prison while raising the wages of incarcerated individuals to reduce the financial burden on families

Reducing the use of solitary confinement through the passage of the HALT bill

Finally, I am in support of bail reform. Cash bail perpetuates inequality and leaves people waiting in jails simply because they cannot pay to be released. The purpose of bail is to ensure a defendant's return to court; there are other ways to do that without punishing the poor. I support the bill that was passed in April 2019 that reduced the number of crimes for which judges can set bail. However, the state did not provide financial support to local governments to implement the reforms, which cost money and require additional personnel. I am deeply concerned by this year's rollback of the reforms, which undid important progress by increasing judges' discretion in bail determinations, exposing defendants to potential bias. Any changes made to the original legislation must be detailed and clear, and openly debated by both the Assembly and the Senate - rather than being negotiated as one item out of many in the overall State budget deal.

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