New crimes aren’t bail-eligible
Laws about body armor, threats of mass harm class the offenses as misdemeanors
A person arrested for one of two new crimes Gov. Kathy Hochul signed into law in the wake of the mass shooting in Buffalo — threat of mass harm and possession or sale of a body-armor vest — would likely be ineligible for a judge to set pre-trial bail as a condition of their release regardless of their flight risk.
Criminal justice advocates and public defenders are in favor of the fact that judges would not be allowed to set bail for a person charged with those nonviolent offenses.
The new offenses added to the state’s criminal laws come at a time shortly after Hochul advocated for certain gun crimes to be included as baileligible offenses as a means to mitigate gun violence.
The administration, according to a senior official earlier this year, looked at using the threat of bail as a potential deterrent for certain crimes.
Criminal justice advocates point to a lack of data that supports the use of bail as a deterrence for someone to commit a crime.
“Gov. Hochul worked with the Legislature to swiftly pass nation-leading gun safety laws, and we’re proud that for years to come these laws will help stop unfettered access to dangerous weapons, prevent gun violence and save lives,” Hochul spokesman Avi Small said in response to questions on the bail implications of the new statutes.
At the end of the legislative session earlier this month, lawmakers swiftly put together a 10-bill package to respond to the mass shooting at a Buffalo supermarket that killed 10 Black people. The gunman, a white 18-year-old from Broome County, was charged with federal hate crimes on Wednesday.
The legislative package, which came at the behest of Hochul, included raising the minimum age to purchase a semiautomatic rifle to 21 years old and requiring a permit to buy those weapons, similar to the rules governing handgun purchases.
Hochul and lawmakers touted the changes to the state’s gun laws as a strong step toward mitigating gun crime and domestic terrorism in New York while Congress continues to stall on expanding federal gun laws.
One of the less high-profile pieces inthe package would make it illegal to make a mass threat of harm with the “intent to intimidate a group of people or to create public alarm,” according to the bill. For a judge to find someone guilty of making a mass threat, which would be a B-misdemeanor, the defendant would not need to be shown to have the intent or capability of committing the act they are threatening, according to the recently signed law.
A stricter version of the law, aggravated mass threat of harm, would be classified as an Amisdemeanor. The offense would occur if the threat included an “overt act,” according to the law, like making a plan, compiling a list of targets or possessing weapons to carry out the offense. The possession of weapons charge may, in certain circumstances, make a person eligible for a judge to set bail at their arraignment.
The purchase of body armor is illegal for most people and is an A-misdemeanor for a firsttime offense. The same goes for the illicit sale of body armor. Law enforcement members, first responders and people designated by the state to have the vests are still eligible to purchase body armor.
The focus on whether any of the offenses should be eligible for bail is misguided, public defenders in New York City note. The result of both the new offenses and the potential addition of bail could have a disproportionate effect on people of color, the public defenders said.
Instead, public defenders said, the focus should be to continue increasing spending and access to community-based services that remedy the problems before they occur.