Justice reformers call on Katz to uphold campaign pledges during Queens courthouse rally
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More than 25 justice reform organizers rallied outside Queens Criminal Court Monday to call on Queens DA Melinda Katz to implement additional changes to the way her office operates. Photo via VOCAL-NY/Facebook
By David Brand
More than six months into her tenure as Queens’ top prosecutor, District Attorney Melinda Katz has failed to uphold several promises she made on the campaign trail, say a group of justice reform organizers.
About 25 demonstrators protested outside the Queens Criminal Court building Monday morning to call on Katz to stop asking for cash bail — a key campaign commitment — and to consent to the release of people wrongfully convicted by prosecutors working under the previous Queens DA, Richard Brown. The protesters included members of the organizations JustLeadershipUSA, Exodus Transitional Community and VOCAL-NY.
“Our communities and organizations like Exodus have created other ways to deliver true justice and safety for our communities, but DAs like Melinda Katz have kept choosing incarceration,” said Exodus Vice President of Policy Kandra Clark. “After decades we finally have a new DA in Queens, but still too many of our fellow New Yorkers are suffering on Rikers Island.”
The rally took place amid a spike in shootings and murders in New York City, despite an overall decrease in index crimes in June. The NYPD has linked the rise in gun violence on efforts to release people from city jails.
But advocates, including organizers at the protest, say the data does not support that claim and have urged Katz and other New York City prosecutors to consent to releasing more people from Rikers Island to stop the spread of COVID-19 behind bars.
A July 8 analysis by NY1 found that six of the 4,500 people released from Rikers Island since March have been arrested for murder and 35 were arrested for weapons charges. Overall, 13 percent of people released to prevent the spread of COVID-19 have been re-arrested, NY1 reported. The New York Post found that just one of the roughly 11,000 people who avoided jail time under the state’s new bail law was rearrested and charged with a shooting.
Peggy Herrera, a member-leader withJustLeadershipUSA, called on Katz to “focus on building communities and stop using jail and bail as an excuse for public safety.”
“We can't arrest or incarcerate our way out of the challenges that face our communities,” she said.
In March, Katz agreed to drop charges against Herrera, who was arrested by NYPD officers after she called 911 to request support for her son during an acute mental health crisis. By the time police arrived, Herrera’s son had calmed down and she urged them not to enter the home. She was arrested and charged with obstruction of governmental administration.
Other demonstrators criticized Katz’s shifting stance on cash bail.
“Melinda Katz said that she would end money bail, but on the very first case I watched under her regime in Queens, she asked for money bail. She lied,” said VOCAL-NY organizer John McFarlane.
At the start of her 2019 campaign for Queens DA, Katz pledged to never ask for cash bail on misdemeanors or nonviolent felonies. A few of Katz’s opponents in the race went even further, vowing to never ask for cash bail in any circumstances. By June 2019, Katz had adopted the same position.
“Under my administration, we will have no cash bail,” she said during a June 2019 debate on NY1. In January, she again appeared on NY1 and said Queens was not yet ready to end cash bail.
Katz and the Queens DA’s Office did not respond to an email seeking comment for this story.
Over the past six months, Katz has highlighted various reforms the office has implemented, like eliminating a policy that forced defendants to waive their right to a grand jury in order to engage in plea negotiations and establishing Queens’ first Conviction Integrity Unit to review claims of wrongful convictions.
The CIU has so far freed one person in a case that began under the previous administration.
