In 2019, the newly empowered Democratic majorities in the state Legislature curtailed the use of cash bail in New York. But the law quickly came under fire from law enforcement officials. And a report by the group FWD.US found in many instances the media failed to explain how the measure worked. 

The report found the media spread misinformation and unchecked facts about changes to New York's bail laws that ultimately led to more people in jail during the pandemic. 

"We also saw the poll numbers," said Laura Bennett, the group's research and policy manager for criminal justice reform. "Support for bail reform was declining just days after the law took effect."

After the initial cash bail law was approved, law enforcement sources would often blame the measure for why someone wasn't in jail. But in many instances, the law did not apply. Nevertheless, the press reported these claims uncritically.  

"Too often those stories were just untrue and they often used sensationalized headlines or un-fact checked claims from law enforcement," Bennett said. 

Lawmakers a year later would make changes to the cash bail law again in response to the outcry. 

"You can draw a direct line from these articles to the rollbacks and from the rollbacks to the fact that thousands of more people are in jail today while COVID is spreading behind bars," Bennett said. "That's why we feel this issue is so important."

The controversy raised by the law enforcement and the media surrounding the cash bail law frustrated advocates like Stanley Fritz, who had lobbied for an end to cash bail. 

"The Legislature reacted to what the public response when it was obvious now that the public was misled, legislators were misled, reporters were misled," said Fritz, the political director for Citizen Action. 

The issue was exploited to the detriment of reform, he said. 

"It was really hurtful and demoralizing because I understand people want to feel safe, but they played off peoples' fears and it was so obviously racist," Fritz said. "I felt like I was screaming into a vacuum."