Rochester, NY—In response to a recent media interview with District Attorney Sandra Doorley, Erin George, Criminal Justice Campaigns Director of Citizen Action of New York, has issued the following statement:
“Either Sandra Doorley has a poor understanding of the new bail law or she is willfully distorting the facts to incite public fear. It’s clear that DA Doorley was more comfortable under the old system, which created the crisis of mass jailing and has broken apart countless families in the process.
“Doorley is using bail as a tool to incarcerate. Both the new and current laws make it clear that bail wasn’t designed for this purpose. Bail is collateral to ensure that people who are deemed to be at high risk of flight return to court.
“Citizen Action forcefully rejects the fear tactics and dehumanizing rhetoric of Sandra Doorley. Dog-whistle phrases like “catch and release” are straight out of the Trump playbook and have no place in the conversation around bail reform.”
###