The Riverdale Press: Advocates herald cash bail reform as a good first step

Bail, initially, was a way to ensure those accused of crimes would show up for their day in court.

Over time, it has become a way to keep people contained while they wait for their trial date.

“Bail is a mechanism for release,” said Scott Levy, chief policy counsel at the Bronx Defenders. “It’s not supposed to hold people in jail. It’s only because we have lived for so long in this world where it has been used to detain people that it has started to seem natural and normal.”

The criminal justice system should reflect the policy of “innocent until proven guilty,” Levy added.

Read the full article here