In 2018, a debate was raging in New York about bail reform. There were multiple proposals circulating, and the governor at that time, Andrew Cuomo, was seeking to thwart meaningful reform efforts. To help the public and other advocates cut through the bullsh*t, the Katal Center for Equity, Health, and Justice published A Guide to Bail Reform in New York. It offered nine key principles essential for bail reform, with a focus on addressing and reforming the the racial and wealth-based disparities that undermined fairness and justice in New York’s pretrial practices. The guide helped us at Katal build a coalition big enough to finally win real reform.
The Guidewas co-authored by a number of Katal staff, including Sean Hill, Marie Ndiaye, Mo Farrell, and gabriel sayegh. It was edited by Jules Verdone. We updated the guide over the course of the next 18 months until bail reform was finally won in the spring of 2019 — a major victory achieved by grassroots organizations, public defenders, advocates, and more.
