Criminal justice
New York State
Criminal justice reform push comes as state budget negotiations drag on
Advocates join in a call for passing a package of bills that make it easier to challenge wrongful convictions and ease financial burdens on incarcerated persons and their families.
New York City
After PR stunts, damning reports and a new lawsuit, judge sets stage for potential federal takeover of Rikers next year
Federal judge Laura Taylor Swain is losing patience with the city Department of Correction, which has now come under fire from the court-appointed federal monitor, Legal Aid Society, federal prosecutors, city comptroller and Board of Correction.
New York City
Opinion: Eric Adams has failed. It’s time for a federal receiver to take over at Rikers
Receivership is the only way to improve conditions and save lives at the troubled jail complex
New York City
More people have died in New York City jails than previously known
Since 2014, at least 120 people held in city jails have died while in custody or shortly after being released on medical grounds – but some of those deaths have gone unreported.
New York City
Here's how parents are really treated on Rikers
Unable to exercise their parental rights, incarcerated fathers and mothers can often feel isolated from their children.
New York City
What needs to change at Rikers? Everything.
We asked more than a dozen criminal justice experts. They urged staying the course on borough-based jails – and many called for a federal takeover of Rikers in the meantime.
New York State
NYC comptroller says old criminal convictions cost city residents nearly $2.4 billion in annual wages
The Legislature only has a few more days left to pass the Clean Slate Act, which would seal old criminal convictions.
Nonprofits
Advocates call for the passage of Daniel’s Law in Albany
The legislation if passed would remove police officers as first responders to mental health crises.
Nonprofits
Opinion: How a court’s mission aligned with its response to Superstorm Sandy
The Red Hook Community Justice Center took the same holistic approach to overcoming challenges in the criminal justice system when Superstorm Sandy hit ten years ago.
Opinion
Commentary: Mend It, Don’t End It
An analysis on salvaging broken windows.
Criminal justice
Commentary: I have spent years fighting a wrongful conviction – a struggle known by many
The exoneration process takes far too long and needs streamlining.
Policy
Advocates and electeds call for an end to solitary confinement as City Council discusses a bill to curtail the controversial practice
So far, no policy decisions have yet made progress in stopping jail officials from isolating incarcerated people.
Nonprofits
Preventing reimprisonment of formerly incarcerated individuals starts with higher-paying jobs
The city should work with unions and re-entry providers to create work opportunities that facilitate and track long-term success.
Criminal justice
Critics say New York’s new gun control law will fuel mass incarceration
When the old law was ruled unconstitutional, public defenders had hoped that the Legislature could craft a better law.
Opinion
Thousands of detained New Yorkers are eligible to vote. Few likely will.
A lack of reporting and adequate voter assistance materials that plagues jail facilities throughout the state leaves doubts that many incarcerated individuals will cast ballots in the upcoming primary elections
Policy
How New York’s highest court has veered right
A new four-judge bloc has consistently voted together in the most recent term, impacting criminal defendants, workers and people suing police
Criminal justice
Reform doesn’t stop at the Domestic Violence Survivors Justice Act
Criminalized domestic abuse survivors call for the passing of legislation that will end mandatory minimums and grant a second look when being sentenced in court.
Criminal justice
Debating the impacts of bail reform
State Sen. Michael Gianaris, Assembly Member Latrice Walker and former Queens prosecutor James Quinn discussed law changes at John Jay College of Criminal Justice Friday.
New York State
