Chairman Crowley Statement on Republican Legislation to Weaken Pre-trial Reform Efforts
(Washington, D.C.) – House Democratic Caucus Chairman Joe Crowley (D-Queens, the Bronx) released the following statement on the Citizens’ Right to Know Act, a Republican bill to weaken pre-trial reform efforts:
“Our criminal justice system is built on the basic premise of presumption of innocence. Yet, our current cash bail system severely undermines that bedrock principle in an unjust fashion that disproportionately punishes people of color.
“This bill will hurt efforts to reform our bail system in a significant and devastating way. It should not become law.
“In my district, thousands of men and women accused of low-level offenses are kept behind bars at Rikers Island each day. Often unable to afford bail, these individuals can spend months in confinement even though they have not been convicted of a crime. This is an issue of dignity and equality, and any proposal that hurts our ability to advance true reform runs counter to our efforts to create a fairer criminal justice system.”
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