Voters overwhelmingly support pretrial reforms that keep people at home while they wait for their trials, shorten case processing times, and prevent defendants from taking plea deals before evidence is shared with them.
replacing the system of keeping people in jail while they wait for their trial unless they are a flight risk and have been accused of a felony involving physical force or over $1 million in property damage.
ending the policy of jailing people who have been accused of misdemeanors or non-violent felonies while they await trial.
people arrested in New York State for low-level and non-violent crimes should be able to stay at home while they wait for their trial.
90 percent of voters are in favor of setting firm speedy trial requirements, including 78 percent who strongly support the idea.
59 percent of New York voters believe a trial must begin within eight weeks to be considered “speedy.”
78 percent of voters are in favor of allowing people who are accused of a crime to see the evidence against them before deciding whether to plead guilty or go to trial.
82 percent of voters believe it is a waste of taxpayer money to keep people accused of non-violent crimes in New York State jails while they wait for their trials.
83 percent of voters believe wealthy people have a better chance of being found not guilty in New York State than lower-income people.
68 percent of voters believe that people shouldn’t be stuck in jail just because they can’t afford to pay bail before their trial.
80 percent of voters think there should be fewer people incarcerated in New York State for minor and non-violent crimes.
71 percent of voters believe New York State should reform its criminal justice system to reduce the number of people in jail.
58 percent of voters think that New York should make major (as opposed to minor) changes to the criminal justice system.
When voters are exposed to balanced messaging both for and against ending jail before trial for misdemeanors and non-violent felonies, support for the proposal increases by nine points (from 71 percent support/24 percent oppose to 80 percent/14 percent).
Support for ending the policy of jailing people accused of misdemeanors and non-violent felonies before trial is nearly identical among upstate voters (70 percent) and downstate voters (71 percent).
69 percent of upstate voters and 76 percent of downstate voters support replacing the system of jailing people before trial unless they are a flight risk and have been accused of a felony involving physical force or major property damage.
64 percent of Republicans and 74 percent of Democrats support ending the policy of jailing people accused of misdemeanors and non-violent felonies before trial.
74 percent of Republicans and 79 percent of Democrats are in favor of allowing people who are accused of a crime to see the evidence against them before deciding whether to plead guilty or go to trial.
89 percent of Republicans and 90 percent of Democrats are in favor of setting firm speedy trial limits.
73 percent of crime victim households (compared to 70 percent of non-victim households) support ending the policy of jailing people accused of misdemeanors and non-violent felonies before trial.
84 percent of crime victim households (compared to 75 percent of non-victim households) are in favor of allowing people who are accused of a crime to see the evidence against them before deciding whether to plead guilty or go to trial.
96 percent of crime victim households (compared to 88 percent of non-victim households) are in favor of setting firm speedy trial limits.
