NEW YORK— FWD.us New York State Director, Criminal Justice Reform Rena Karefa-Johnson issued the following statement on today’s press conference by opponents of criminal justice reform:

“Today’s press conference again demonstrates that certain members of the Senate minority are thoroughly out of touch with New York voters. These outdated, fear-mongering tropes are another reminder of why New Yorkers voted to change leadership last November; those elections should be a clear warning to elected officials across the state who would continue to peddle this rhetoric and related policy approaches. Now more than ever, we urge the current legislative leaders to follow through with their commitments to pass bold criminal justice reform that protects the presumption of innocence by prioritizing pretrial freedom.”