WATCH: Jail Reform, Safety & Justice in New York talk series
By Carla Sinclair, Communications Associate
In November-December 2022, the CUNY Institute for State & Local Governance partnered with the CUNY Graduate Center on a three-part talk series, “Jail Reform, Safety & Justice in New York.” The talk series brought together leaders from across the criminal legal field, including prosecutors, defense attorneys, former judges, and service providers, to discuss how to safely reduce reliance on incarceration while keeping the community safe.
With fear of violent crime on the rise, a broken jail system creating dangerous conditions on Rikers and beyond, and calls for reform of the criminal legal system growing louder, what can be done? Is it possible for reform and community safety to move forward simultaneously? This three-part series dove deep into new ideas for bringing about meaningful change:
Panel 1: Understanding Alternatives to Incarceration
The high-profile bail reform legislation enacted in 2020 is just one example of the alternatives to incarceration that New York City has developed in recent years. How effective have alternatives to incarceration been, and what are other ways to reduce the city’s reliance on jail? Legal thinkers, defense attorneys, and prosecutors brought to light the data behind these alternatives and what reforms are still needed to make communities safe.
"At the end of the day, our clients are dynamic people, with complicated lives & complicated histories . . . we want to receive them as their whole self as opposed to just a person who was arrested,"
- Julia Solomons, senior social worker at The Bronx Defenders
Panelists: Sherene Crawford, executive assistant DA, Pathways to Public Safety, Manhattan District Attorney’s Office; Ann-Marie Louison, chief impact officer, Center for Alternative Sentencing and Employment Services (CASES); and Julia Solomons, senior social worker, The Bronx Defenders. Moderated by Krystal Rodriguez, policy director, Data Collaborative for Justice at John Jay College.
See our Twitter for a live-tweeted thread of the talk.
Panel 2: Rethinking Rikers and the Role of the Courts
The horrific conditions at Rikers Island were highlighted by the case of Kalief Browder, who died in 2015 after being held for three years without a trial. According to a recent watchdog report, Rikers is more “unstable and unsafe” than ever, and the average time a person spends there is growing. Experts discussed how the courts can decrease case-processing time to reduce jail time for those awaiting trial, and how it helps both those inside the jail and the community.
"It's critically important for us to focus on this. Eighteen people on Rikers have died this year. People can die if their cases aren't processed."
- Jan Ransom, Reporter, The New York Times
Panelists: Akeem Browder, founder of the Kalief Browder Foundation; Hon. George A. Grasso (Ret.), former administrative judge for Queens County Supreme Court; and Jan Ransom, investigative reporter for The New York Times. Moderated by Michael Jacobson, executive director, CUNY Institute for State & Local Governance.
See our Twitter for a live-tweeted thread of the talk.
Panel 3: Reimagining the Purpose and Function of Jail
How can more humane jails impact people held behind bars and society at large, and what are some successful examples? This panel — including jail and prison administrators — discussed what a functioning jail system can look like when oriented toward providing programs and meaningful supports to prevent and reduce crime.
"I think we're striving for the humanization of people who are incarcerated. Jail was designed to hold people while their crime is adjudicated . . . but the time people spend there is almost like prison."
- Stanley Richards, deputy chief executive officer, the Fortune Society
Panelists: Leann K. Bertsch, senior vice president of corrections at Management and Training Corporation, former director of the North Dakota Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation; Luis Quinones, CUNY alumnus, former member and mentor at the Institute for Justice and Opportunity, and program manager for elder services at Correctional Health Services, NYC Health + Hospitals; Stanley Richards, deputy chief executive officer of the Fortune Society; and John Wetzel, former Pennsylvania secretary of corrections. Moderated by Julio Medina, founder, executive director, and CEO of Exodus Transitional Community.
Photo by Carla Sinclair, CUNY ISLG