Candidate Answers to JOLDC: Tess Cohen for Bronx District Attorney

Candidate Name: Tess Cohen

Office Seeking Election for: Bronx District Attorney

Campaign Website: www.tesscohen.com

1. If elected, what would be the usual procedure for recommending or opposing release when people prosecuted by your office appear before the Parole Board?

Drastically increasing the frequency with which parole is granted is a vital tool for lowering the incarcerated population and reducing the trauma caused by lengthy prison terms. Our default position will be to recommend release, with opposition only coming in rare circumstances with executive level approval required to oppose.

2. Will you commit to establishing a presumption of support for parole for those appearing before the State Parole Board who were prosecuted by your office unless there is clear, individualized evidence that they are a risk to the community?

Yes, we must take every possible step to return people to their families and communities—and give them the reentry support they need to succeed.

3. Would you create a post conviction unit? If so, what would you use the unit for?

Yes, my office will be highly proactive in seeking out opportunities for resentencing, clemency, and vacating convictions. The unit will be multi-faceted. It would be charged with reviewing the cases of people sentenced to long prison terms, prioritizing those cases where someone is currently over 55 and/or was under 25 at the time of their arrest. The unit would, in appropriate cases, look to see if there were legal mechanisms to re-sentence the person, or join clemency applications. In addition, the unit would be charged with considering the appropriateness of joining clemency applications or vacating convictions where severe collateral consequences–such as deportation–have occurred. Finally, the unit will review applications for sealing and join in such applications.

4. Would you establish a wrongful conviction unit?

I will significantly expand the conviction integrity bureau that currently exists in the Bronx, which is extremely understaffed. I’ve represented people who spent decades in prison for crimes they did not commit and know the agony of waiting for the system to correct its mistakes. I will ensure that the Conviction Integrity Unit has a significant increase in staff and resources to address the pending backlog of cases and ensure that new cases are evaluated promptly. The unit will also be responsible for increasing office-wide trainings and compliance with the office policies that prevent wrongful convictions from happening in the first place. Otherwise, the CIU will be separate from the rest of the office to avoid conflicts.

5. Would you make it a practice to meet with currently incarcerated people with pending clemency applications?

Yes. New York has sentenced an enormous number of people to prison for egregiously long sentences. Meeting with them, and supporting their clemency applications, is something I see as my duty to undo some of the harm done by historical sentencing practices in the Bronx

6. Would you make it a practice to visit people your office prosecuted who are currently incarcerated in the New York State prison system?

Yes, the voices of the incarcerated urgently need to be heard. I regularly see clients in prison now, and I know that there is no substitute for meeting people in person and seeing the prisons for what they are. My vision of creating lasting public safety involves getting guidance and input from the people our office prosecutes who have unique and invaluable experiences that can help us shape policy.

7. Do you support the Elder Parole bill, legislation pending in Albany that would allow people deemed older by the New York State prison system who have served 15 years in prison to appear before the Parole Board for an individualized release assessment? The bill does not mandate release for anyone.

Yes. I’ve been an advocate for the Elder Parole bill for many years. Our aging prison population is a heartbreaking tragedy for those incarcerated and their families, while the mounting cost of holding elders who pose no danger should instead be invested in our communities. I was the primary drafter of The New York City Bar Association Mass Incarceration Task Force’s comprehensive report, A Pathway Out of Mass Incarceration and Towards a New Criminal Justice System, which advocated for many changes to the law, including passage of the Elder Parole bill specifically.

8. Do you support the Fair & Timely Parole bill, legislation pending in Albany that would ensure people appearing before the Parole Board are assessed for release based on who they are today, their rehabilitation, and risk of violating the law?

Yes. I will continue to support the passage of Fair & Timely Parole, which is an important step in making our parole system more just and will free more people held for excessively long sentences.

9. In cases where bail may be set by the court, what would you do to ensure that your office does not contribute to the criminalization of poverty and the imprisonment of people simply because they cannot afford cash bail?

The current DA claims to be reducing mass incarceration, but it’s clear that she is not ensuring her ADAs follow this in practice. The result is more people needlessly stuck on Rikers. I will make sure our staff actually follows through on my pledge to decarcerate, by using a presumption of release implemented for my line prosecutors, with a requirement for signoff from a supervisor to request bail at arraignments. I will also have strict rules in the office to make sure that our line prosecutors are complying with bail laws, will have regular training on them, and will have supervisors that report to me monitor those courtrooms to make sure we are compliant. I will have a single person in charge of doing a final evaluation of every person who is held pretrial, who will revisit each decision on a regular basis and ensure that trials are rapid for the small number of people held in jail pretrial. I will also ensure

full, accurate records are made to support release in order to undermine judges’ attempts to circumnavigate the new law.

10. What steps would you take to address gun violence, knowing that the same communities most impacted by mass incarceration and criminalization are also the ones suffering from gun violence?

Gun violence is a serious issue impacting our Bronx community. Unfortunately, our policies and practices today are making things worse. The Center for Court Innovation found that of young New Yorkers who routinely carried guns, 81% of them had been shot or shot at. They are in fear for their life. The threat of prison isn’t going to stop them from carrying a gun. And when we impose mandatory prison sentences on those caught with guns, we rip those frightened young people from their family and their community. We destabilize their lives, we render them unemployable, we put them in prisons where they are exposed to gang culture and violence. Their families and neighborhoods suffer. And the Bronx suffers because we are taking all the reasons that a kid picks up a gun and making them worse.

I will take an evidence-based approach to combating gun violence, which means first and foremost, using my platform to push for investment in impacted communities. We should be spending more money on trauma care for gunshot wound victims, on blight remediation—which can reduce gun violence by 30%—and on interventions like job training and drug treatment. We need more violence interrupters and less police. I will be fighting for these programs throughout my tenure.

Of course, I will also hold those who cause harm accountable– but that does not have to mean asking for life sentences. Right now, homicides committed in which the victim is Black or Latinx are far less likely to be solved, and shootings solve rates are extremely low. We will focus resources on solving those crimes, while also remaining cognizant of the societal and governmental failures that have contributed to the actions of those who commit acts of violence. I will offer interventions like a Gun Diversion Court to try and help connect people who are carrying guns with support, job opportunities, and housing, rather than incarcerate them and exacerbate the reasons they are carrying a gun.

I will also work to create a public health style response to gun violence, including conducting real studies of how and when the city can prevent gun violence. New York City began reviewing overdose deaths in great detail, with OCME working with others to determine when those who died of an overdose had previously been in contact with the government or programming to determine when intervention could have occurred to prevent the person’s death. We can, and will, do the same things with homicides in the Bronx, studying the lives of those who are killed due to gun violence, and those who perpetrate gun violence, so we have borough specific data and stories to confirm what we know – that preventing gun violence requires investing in communities, addressing trauma, and supporting the work of violence interrupters, rather than investing in police.

Finally, I will spend time in the most impacted communities, listening to what people want to see in our legal system. Those impacted by gun violence and mass incarceration – often, the same group – have too little say in how our legal system operates. It is time to change that.

11. Would you prosecute sex work?

No, sex work is work. No one should be arrested, incarcerated, or prosecuted for engaging in sex work. Historically, New York’s enforcement of prostitution and solicitation laws have been used to target Black and brown people, as well as members of the LGBTQ community. Under my leadership, the DA’s office will simply dismiss these charges. No forced treatment, no coerced programming. We will have resources available, but none of that will be tied to the dismissal of criminal charges.

12. Do you support the decriminalization of sex work?

Yes.

13. The data on New York's bail reform laws is crystal clear: bail reform has decreased jail populations, kept communities intact, reduced racial injustice, and has had no impact on crime. What would you do to ensure full compliance and strong implementation of bail reform laws?

As noted in #9 above, I will have a presumption of release policy, and make sure our line prosecutors actually follow through, with a requirement for signoff from a supervisor to request bail at arraignments.

In addition, on my first day in office, I will order a review of every single individual currently held in pretrial detention, with the goal of radically reducing the number of people held at Rikers Island.

I will also speak out against fear mongering regarding the bail law, correcting inaccuracies and pushing back against bail reform rollbacks. I will make a concerted effort to explain bail to my constituents, so they understand how bail reform actually makes us safer.

14. Do you support legislative efforts to End Qualified Immunity in New York State?

Yes, qualified immunity allows law enforcement who abuse their authority to act with impunity. My work as a civil rights attorney involves suing both police officers and correctional officers, so I know firsthand the harm qualified immunity causes. Disturbingly, recent comments by DA Clark at the Ben Franklin Democratic club shows that she does not understand how qualified immunity works and stated she opposed ending it.

15. Many criminal cases in New York end in dismissal, including cases in which people were jailed pre-trial, what process would your office have to investigate these cases and how would you change office policies to eliminate the pretrial jailing of cases that may end in dismissal.

Above, I have emphasized that our overall policy will be the presumption of release. Complying with discovery reforms, which the incumbent DA has been unable to do, is another critical way to ensure we do not detain individuals whose case may be dismissed.

As part of the review of cases in which bail is set, the executive in charge will review the strength of the case against the individual. While in practice prosecutors often flout the discovery law requirements to turn discovery over within 20 days when an individual is incarcerated, we will require our prosecutors to comply with that law, with executive staff promptly alerted when discovery is not completed on schedule. The prosecutor will also be required to inform reviewing staff upon learning information that undermines the strength of a case in which an individual is incarcerated to reevaluate the appropriateness of bail being set.

16. District Attorneys are leading the charge to undermine the state’s Discovery Laws to remove guardrails installed by the legislature to ensure the timely transfer of evidence to people accused of crimes in New York State. Should people be prosecuted – and potentially jailed – without an opportunity to see the evidence against them? Why or why not?

Absolutely not. I spoke out strongly against DA Clark’s attempts to roll back discovery reform, helping to shape the coverage of this failed effort during this year’s state budget negotiations. Pushback from advocates likely forced Clark, other DAs, and Governor Hochul to back off for the time being, but the threat remains strong. I will continue to advocate for maintaining discovery reform. Having done wrongful conviction work, I know the extreme injustice that can result from the defense not having full access to all relevant evidence and information.

17. Would you become a member of the District Attorneys Association of New York?

I think having a presence at the statehouse is important, but I will not fall in lock-step with their positions and will strike out on my own and testify in favor of criminal justice reform. I plan to maintain membership as I believe in the importance of having a voice at the table. However, I will not hesitate to criticize statements and lobbying by DAASNY that I disagree with. I plan to have a legislative staff that can push for change at the policy level so that I am not reliant on DAASNY, and work actively with criminal justice reform groups, such as the Communities Not Cages coalition, to back their legislative efforts. I would be interested in working to create a progressive prosecutor association, which would provide a unified prosecutor voice for change at the NY legislature.

18. Have you accepted, or are you open to accepting contributions or support from police or corrections department associations?

I have not and will not accept such contributions. COBA, the correction officers’ union, is the largest campaign donor to my opponent, DA Clark.

19. Would you use information pulled from the NYPD "gang database" in charging, bail, or sentencing decisions?

We will not use information from the gang database for any charging, bail, or sentencing decisions because we know that database is racist and known to be inaccurate. I would not allow information gleaned from such a tool to infect our decision-making at any of those stages.

20. Youth are increasingly being held in adult jails before they even reach trial. What approach would you take regarding charging minors as adult?

I will treat kids like kids – children must be treated differently than adults. Putting kids in adult jails causes severe trauma and harm, and ignores all science showing that children’s brains are developing through their late teens to early twenties. Moreover, children of color are much more likely to be transferred to the adult criminal system. Under the Raise the Age Act, children under 18 who are charged with non-violent felonies have their cases transferred to family court unless the prosecutor opposes such a transfer; we will not oppose such transfers. For violent felonies, we will almost always support transferring the case to family court under the test created by the Raise the Age Act. We will only support keeping children in adult courts when they pose a very risk of serious harm, can receive no benefit from the juvenile system, and will age out of it quickly. Even when that is done, decisions on bail, plea, programming and sentencing will all be made conscious of the difference between children and adults. Even where a youth is determined to pose a very high risk of serious harm, our office will almost always, if not always, advocate for, at a minimum, release from jail on electronic monitoring rather than being held pretrial.

21. Do you support reparations for slavery?

Yes

22. Do you support closing Rikers Island?

Yes, and I plan to do everything in my power to help ensure it closes as quickly as possible. The Bronx District Attorney has sole jurisdiction over Rikers’ Island, and a unique ability to identify the sources of the humanitarian crisis at Rikers, and demand immediate change at Rikers, as well as the closing of Rikers Island. I already have, and will continue to, communicate with the incredible advocates, such as those at Freedom Agenda, working to close Rikers.

Immediately when I take office, I will open a grand jury investigation into the conditions at Rikers Island. It will investigate every death at Rikers, the failure to provide mental and physical health care, the overcrowded and unhygienic conditions. Where appropriate charges will be brought, and grand jury reports will be issued describing conditions, making recommendations, and including photos and videos supportive of those findings.

I will work to purposefully decarcerate Rikers Island to, at a minimum, below the levels required to close Rikers by the 2027 timeline under the current borough-based plan and look to work with other District Attorneys in the city towards that goal.

23. Do you support the administration’s plan to open borough-based jails?

Yes. The borough-based jail plan allows NYC to meet the critical goal of closing Rikers by 2027. However, we will not improve matters by continuing to lock up poor people without trial, only at a different location. We must continue to reduce pretrial detention and our jail population, before and after closing Rikers.

24. Do you support legislation outlawing solitary confinement in all jails and prisons, including city jails, and do you support Intro 549 (regarding solitary confinement)

Yes. Solitary confinement is recognized internationally as a form of torture, and New York cannot allow this humanitarian calamity to continue.

25. Will you publicly call on the governor to use her clemency power for the many incarcerated New Yorkers who can safely return home? Will you tweet out your support for this or issue a public statement? Would you be willing to be critical of a governor who does not exercise their power to grant clemencies and commutations to those worthy of release? Have you ever spoken out in such a way?

Yes, I have long been outspoken in support of clemency, which is for many the only path out of the criminal justice system, and will continue to do so in office. As DA, I would use both public advocacy—including criticism when warranted—and private lobbying to increase clemencies and commutations by the governor.

26. If elected, will you include in your office’s newsletter instructions for your constituents on how their loved ones can apply for clemency?

I plan to hire community liaisons that live in neighborhoods all over the Bronx, and will consult with community members to determine the most effective way to communicate with my constituents, whether by newsletter or other means of engagement. Whether through a newsletter or other means such as social media, my office will take seriously our obligation to provide public information on clemency including application instructions, as well as draw attention to other under utilized mechanisms like our sealing statute.

27. Do you support the establishment of supervised drug consumption spaces?

Yes, supervised drug consumption spaces have made a huge impact in reducing harm. We must learn from, and expand, programs that work.

28. Are you in favor of removing police from any of the following? a) Schools; b) Mental health response calls; c) Homeless outreach and social services; or d) Traffic enforcement

Yes, police in schools do not increase safety, they simply increase the targeting of students of color. Police do not have the right training or approach to handle mental health crises or homeless outreach, and such encounters often turn violent. There is a long and tragic history of racially biased traffic stops by police that frequently escalate to police officers violently assaulting, and even murdering, Black and Latino drivers.

29. Do you approve of Mayor Adams’ approach to sweeping homeless encampments?

No. Mayor Adams has helped dehumanize our homeless population, treating them like inconveniences rather than human beings. The homeless need outreach, services, and housing, not violent raids.

30. In view of the fact that Ed Koch has been documented to have caused the deaths of hundreds of thousands of people with AIDS, and was blatantly racist, would you support a city bill to rename the former Queensboro Bridge? Do you authorize the use of your name for such a purpose?

I believe the bridge should be renamed.

31. Will you refuse money from individuals or Political Action Committees representing the real estate industry or law enforcement unions/associations?

Yes, I take no money from real estate and law enforcement associations and never will. In contrast, COBA (correction union) is my opponent DA Clark’s largest contributor.