Democrats on the House Oversight Committee are demanding more answers from New York City’s district attorneys, suggesting that “excessive bail” and other factors are keeping prisoners in jail longer than necessary.
“We have grave concerns that excessive bail amounts are leading to unnecessary pretrial detention and contributing to a humanitarian crisis in New York City’s jail system, particularly on Rikers Island,” said Reps. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, D-N.Y., Jamie Raskin, D-Md., and Carolyn Maloney, D-N.Y.
In Monday’s letter, the members requested briefings from the DA’s of the Bronx, Manhattan, Brooklyn, Richmond County and Queens. They also requested “new bail hearings for, and consent to the release of, all detainees who are charged with misdemeanors or nonviolent felonies, as well as those who face significant health risks due to the coronavirus.”
Their letter warned that “[i]f these conditions are not addressed, federal intervention may be necessary to protect detainees from additional harm.”
House Democrats pointed to New York Times reporting that more than three-quarters of the nearly 6,000 people in custody at Rikers had yet to be tried.
