10/24/2022
Think about how desperate a politician must be for votes if they are framing their opponent as for "violent criminals roaming the streets" to hurt people. Imagine leaders inspired and didn't use fear as the primary emotion to tap into for their political future. The truth is the majority of voters in NY have no idea how cash bail works (or how the preselected judges on the ballot who set bail works but that's a whole other topic) and those using fear are relying on your lack of knowledge on this topic, because of course it is easy to fear things we don't know or understand. I can guarantee you most (if not all) of the politicians running these types of ads have never attended a criminal arraignment where bail is utilized.
If someone commits a violent r**e or lets say a "mugging" with a weapon and serious injury results and let's sail bail is set at $500,000 dollars on the person arrested for that crime at the arraignment. If that person has a friend or family member walk in with $500,000 cash or utilizes a bail bond agent to post less than the full amount, that "violent" criminal who is facing the allegations walks right out of jail and back on the street. So you see, money controls who is on the street even under the "scary new" bail law. Now, always, and likely forever. what is really on the ballot is the presumption of innocence and capitalism....2 concepts that do not operate in tandem in our system.
I didn't see any political outrage when economically disenfranchised people (who are presumed innocent) remain incarcerated for months and months because they cannot afford the often times egregious bail that was set by judges on low level offenses on people with no criminal backgrounds. I have seen it happen time and time again where defendants due to economics and incompetent lawyers end up pleading guilty to a crime in order to get out of jail, and then the cycle of crime and poverty continues.
The bail law has not made you unsafe. Lack of resources to correct systematic poverty in urban areas and lack of mental health funding has made you feel unsafe.
"In our system of justice it is better to be rich and guilty than poor and innocent" - Bryan Stevenson
