Woman worries bail reform will lead to more overdose deaths, says jail saved her life

SOUTH GLENS FALLS, NY (WRGB) A South Glens Falls mom says going to jail saved her life.

That's why she says she's against New York's new bail reform policy that eliminates jail time for most non-violent offenses.

She tells CBS6's Anne McCloy how a judge who sent her to jail without bail turned her life around for the better.

“I consider Warren County my angels with handcuffs I really do.”

Katrina Fox is talking about the people who put her in jail with no chance of bail. She calls them her angels because she firmly believes they saved her life.

“Seven years ago I overdosed, I lost everything lost my kids house cars lost it all,” Fox said.

Katrina says she started using drugs and alcohol at age 15. By 19 she says she was sentenced to prison time due to her actions under the influence. When she got out she says she went right back to using, and it wasn't long before she was back in front of a judge. But this time, the judge didn't let Katrina off the hook.

“The judge arrested me, I was not offered bail, he remanded me without bail and that began this journey of recovery,” Fox said.

Charged with a felony, Katrina faced another prison sentence, but county officials decided to send her down a different path. They kept her in jail until they could get her into a rehab facility.

“I spent about 3 months awaiting that time which was three months of clean time it was the first stint of sobriety I ever had,” Fox said

Katrina says her time in jail was a catalyst for change. In rehab, she says she learned a new way of thinking, instead of being angry about her time behind bars, she learned to consider it a lifeline.

“They came in and they helped me get sober and they taught he what it was like to learn to love myself,” Fox said.

Because of her experience, Katrina says she is worried the state's new bail reform policies will prevent someone like her from getting the jailtime they may need.

“It’s kind of like we've almost taken a step back,” Fox said.

Now that non-violent crimes don't qualify for jail time before a conviction, she fears addicts will go home and overdose.

“I do feel the judges need the control back I do. I wouldn’t be surprised if the spike in opioid overdoses hit an all-time high,” Fox said.

After her time in jail, Katrina has been sober for more than seven years, she retained custody of her children, and works at Baywood Outpatient Center in Queensbury as a recovery coach.