The Illinois Network for Pretrial Justice is in solidarity with New Yorkers defending pretrial justice reforms from rollbacks. The people of New York state deserve a pretrial system that prioritizes safety and justice over wealth and fear-driven carceral practices.

In 2020, comrades in New York won pretrial reforms that dramatically reduced the number of people jailed on unaffordable money bonds. In the first two years of the law’s implementation, 24,400 fewer people were jailed on money bonds. This means that more than 24,000 families were spared the hardship of having to choose between paying their rent and purchasing their loved one’s freedom. During that same time, judges set $104 million less in money bonds, this is money that would have previously been extracted from New York state’s most marginalized communities.

New York’s pretrial reforms have not compromised community safety, as data continues to show no increase in rearrest rates following the implementation of these reforms. Despite the law’s success, false news and misinformation are causing a threat of a third round of rollbacks after the reforms were already chipped away at in 2020 and 2022. 

We raise our voices with our allies in New York and demand, “No More Rollbacks!” Legislators must stand by these righteous reforms now and in the months and years to come, and history will vindicate them if they do.