ALBANY, NY – FWD.us New York State Director for Criminal Justice Reform Rodney Holcombe issued the following statement today on the need to protect pre-trial freedom regarding gun violence in New York:

“New York City must invest in evidence-based approaches to curb instances of violence, and we agree with Mayor Eric Adams that funding violence interruption programs, mental health care, and housing would help us get there. Adding a dangerousness standard to the bail reform law, however, would further exacerbate racial disparities, increase the jail population in places like Rikers that are in a state of crisis, and not actually address the problem at hand. The data makes clear that bail reform is proving wildly successful and is not connected to the recent and unfortunate instances of violence, and it’s incredibly important that we follow the evidence here and keep this critical law intact.”