The Forum: The Price of Freedom: Bail Reform in the Era of Mass Incarceration

Milbank Tweed Forum
April 13, 2016

The 2015 suicide of 22-year-old Kalief Browder, who at the age of 16 was held at Rikers Island for three years because he could not pay bail, has brought national attention to the human cost of prolonged pretrial detention. Today over 60 percent of people in jail are being held pretrial, and many remain in custody because they cannot afford to make bail payments. As a result, communities throughout New York and across the country have called for meaningful bail reform and broader changes to the systems of mass incarceration. The need for bail reform has also gained renewed attention in the immigration context. Last October the Second Circuit held that the federal government must provide immigrants with a bond hearing within six months of detention, in a case litigated by NYU Law students on behalf of Alex Lora, a New York father and longtime lawful permanent resident. Despite this growing consensus regarding the need for structural reform of the criminal and immigration systems, experts disagree on the best ways to ensure that individuals are not denied their liberty simply because they are poor. The NYU Law Latino Rights Scholars Program explores innovative approaches to bail reform in the era of mass incarceration.

Moderator:
Alina Das, Associate Professor of Clinical Law, New York University School of Law

Panelists:
Molly Cohen, Associate Counsel, NYC Mayor's Office of Criminal Justice
Khalil Cumberbatch, Manager of Trainings, JustLeadershipUSA
Robyn Mar, Deputy Managing Director, Criminal Defense Practice, Bronx Defenders
Carmen Perez, Executive Director, The Gathering for Justice