Yesterday, the New York State Legislature passed critical legislation that will fully repeal 50-a, which has allowed law enforcement to shield police misconduct records from the public.
Once Governor Cuomo signs this law, police disciplinary records will be publicly disclosed, increasing systemic accountability through transparency and taking New York one step forward in addressing police violence throughout the state.
The Innocence Project has been proud to work on the grassroots advocacy campaign to repeal 50-a led by Communities United for Police Reform for the past eight years.
This is an enormous step forward for police accountability in New York State and sets a necessary example for the rest of the country, but we can’t take our foot off the gas. While we’re glad that this will bring some justice to a system that previously prevented it, it’s only one ingredient of authentic accountability.
Upon hearing the news yesterday, Shabaka Shakur — who spent 26 years in prison on a wrongful conviction based on fabricated evidence from now-retired Brooklyn detective Louis Scarcella — said, “It’s amazing what we had to go through just to get politicians and those in power to give us some type of relief. This is all common sense — it should have been passed a long time ago.”
This is an important step forward, but we’ve still got a long way to go.
Thank you,
—The Innocence Project Team
The Innocence Project exonerates the wrongly convicted through DNA testing and reforms the criminal justice system to prevent future injustice. www.innocenceproject.org
