The Decarceration Project fights to make pretrial detention obsolete. As a client and community centered project, we reject the premise that cages keep communities safe. Our integrated model ensures all pathways to individual freedom are exhausted, while working in tandem with our clients, their families, and external partners towards a collective future without jails. 

Housed within the Project is the Women’s Pretrial Release Initiative, which secures the release of cis and trans women who are detained pretrial and connects them to gender-specific alternatives to detention. Through direct and strategic litigation, targeted advocacy, and attorney education, we set the standard for pretrial release advocacy, striving to return as many people to their communities as possible. 

Our Model

The Decarceration Project works to eradicate pretrial incarceration of New York’s most vulnerable citizens through early intervention, litigation, and policy advocacy. Our strategy integrates legal and social work to challenge the use of money bail through a dynamic approach:

• We identify clients who remain detained after their arraignment and work with trial attorneys to fight unfair bail conditions and secure release as soon as possible.
• We link our clients with social workers who assess our clients’ needs and help our clients get back to their community with the support they need.
• We litigate at the trial level, including the filing of writs of habeas corpus to challenge illegal detention orders.
• We litigate in the appellate courts when our clients remain incarcerated.
• We organize alongside other stakeholders to support law reform efforts aimed at decarceration.

Our work positively and directly impacts marginalized people and communities of color by working to ensure that our clients are able to keep housing, employment, and sustenance for their families while they wait for trial. Our work is also practical. It minimizes unnecessary and costly pre-trial incarceration, restores the presumption of innocence, and helps disrupt an unjust criminal justice system, creating the space for systemic change.

Our Impact

An 18-year-old client was detained after bail was set at an amount far beyond his means.

After several attempts, Legal Aid successfully challenged the detention and obtained his release. The court highlighted the strength of the advocacy and the thoughtful arguments presented during the hearing.

A key factor in the outcome was a comprehensive release plan developed over several months. The plan included stable housing, close coordination with service providers, and clear support structures tailored to the client’s needs. Following the court’s decision, staff personally supported the client through the release process, helped him transition to housing, and accompanied him to required appointments during his first days in the community.

This client experienced significant adversity from an early age and spent much of his adolescence in custody. While challenges remain, he now has the opportunity to address his case while living in the community, with direct access to resources, support services, and a dedicated team committed to his success.

Additional Resources

• What You Need to Know About Bail
• Bail’s Set What’s Next (Partially Secured Bond v. Unsecured Bond) English
• Bail’s Set What’s Next (Partially Secured Bond v. Unsecured Bond) Spanish
• The New York City’s Department of Corrections’ guide to paying bail

Contact

To reach the Decarceration Project email decarceratenyc@legal-aid.org.