Civil manners

To the editor:

While many disparage efforts by the State Senate and Assembly regarding reforms to bail, discovery and criminal record sealing laws, I do not. To my mind, reforms are vital if we are to ever eradicate the disparities people of color face in our legal system and beyond.

Most of the complaints claim, without proof, that such measures encourage and increase criminal behavior. However, as with any public issue, facts matter. Every attempt to link NY’s cashless bail law with a spike in crime has been unsuccessful. Detailed crime data analyses have found no credible evidence of increased re-arrest rates of individuals out on cashless bail.

Changes to the discovery rules, which now requires automatic disclosure of evidence prior to trial, should have always been the law. Central to U.S. law is the requirement that anyone accused of a crime know why they are being accused. I can see no possible way that providing the defense with the evidence hampers or jeopardizes the successful prosecution of a guilty individual.

Finally, the Clean Slate Act, which seals misdemeanor records after three years and felony records after eight years. Should ex-convicts never get a clean slate? Or, should they always be marked as criminals, even after paying their debt to society? It seems to me that if someone turns their life around and stays clean for a reasonable period of time, that person deserves a shot at rejoining society. It benefits no one to permanently label people as “ex-convicts” thereby making employment difficult, if not impossible. That is a prescription for recidivism.

I applaud our legislators for taking on this thorny issue. As for claims that being soft on crime spurs crime, someone please explain why states that are toughest on crime have the highest rates!

Joseph Cannisi