Brooklyn Defender Services (BDS) strongly supports the immediate passage of A7715 (Cruz), an important sentencing reform bill currently pending before the Legislature.

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BDS supports this sentencing reform bill because it is an important step towards reducing the harms of New York’s sentencing structure. A7715 provides prosecutors with the ability to consent to a waiver of a defendant’s felony predicate status. A defendant could be sentenced as if the crime were the first felony, as opposed to their second or third felony. Under current law, prosecutors and judges are bound by mandatory minimum prison sentences that are increased when a person has a prior felony conviction. This provides greater flexibility for defendants and their attorneys when plea bargaining with prosecutors and will result in plea agreements with fairer sentences.

View the full memo here.