NYC Defenders Renew Call for Urgent Reforms of the Criminal Legal System Following New Democratic Supermajority

November 23, 2020

Daniel Ball, Brooklyn Defender Services (Dball@bds.org)
Ryan Karerat, The Bronx Defenders (RKarerat@bronxdefenders.org)
Redmond Haskins, The Legal Aid Society (RHaskins@legal-aid.org)
Sam McCann, The Neighborhood Defender Service of Harlem (SMccann@ndsny.org)
Lupe Todd-Medina, New York County Defender Services (LToddmedina@nycds.org)

***FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE*** 

NYC Defenders Renew Call for Urgent Reforms of the Criminal Legal System Following New Democratic Supermajority

(NEW YORK, NY) – Brooklyn Defender Services, The Bronx Defenders, The Legal Aid Society, Neighborhood Defender Service of Harlem and New York County Defender Services issued the following joint statement in response to the announcement from the New York State Senate Majority Leader that the 2021 session will begin with a Democratic supermajority:

“With the results of this election, New York voters rejected the racist fear-mongering promoted by people who seek to perpetuate mass incarceration and stood behind critical changes to the criminal legal system. This outcome sends a clear message to legislators that they have a moral imperative to do much more to dismantle systems of oppression in New York State in the coming session. New York must continue this forward momentum and invest in its communities by prioritizing and passing urgent reforms, including but not limited to marijuana legalization; bringing fairness to the parole system; implementing protections for Black and Brown young people against surreptitious DNA collection and invasive police interrogations; ending solitary confinement; eliminating predatory court fees; reforming sentencing policy; facilitating meaningful appellate review; and enacting new laws to protect immigrant New Yorkers.”

###