New Yorkers United for Justice (NYUJ) issued the following statement in response to the recently announced the FY23 New York state budget:
“New Yorkers United for Justice (NYUJ) is deeply disappointed to see the inclusion of rollbacks to bail and discovery reform in the FY2023 New York State budget. The NYUJ Coalition remains grateful to all the lawmakers who have bravely defended common-sense criminal legal reforms, including the landmark bail and discovery laws of 2019, and who continue the fight for a safer, fairer New York State.
It is a fact that bail and discovery reforms helped to level the playing field between rich and poor defendants, helped reduce incarceration rates, and supported public safety. Critically, study after study, and the State’s own data, proved that bail and discovery reform in New York had no part in the increase in certain categories of violent crime over the past two years. Instead of making us safer, the rollbacks made to these critical laws will result in the incarceration of more black and brown New Yorkers, more poor New Yorkers, and more New Yorkers with serious and persistent mental illness.
“The NYUJ Coalition urges lawmakers and government officials to renew their commitments – and the commitment of our State as a whole – to eliminating mass incarceration, addressing and fixing the racial and economic disparities in our legal system, and investing in meaningful mental health, recovery, and employment services. That is the path forward for a better, safer, stronger New York.”