Dems take heat
Pushback over changes to bail reform
ALBANY — Senate Democrats are on the hot seat after proposing changes to the state’s recently enacted bail reforms.
Opponents of the tweaks are hammering Dems and accusing them of caving to fear-mongering and misinformation from cops and prosecutors who have railed against the changes since they went into effect on Jan. 1. Dems in the Assembly, meanwhile, are calling for more time to assess the new laws.
“I devoted six months of my life, giving blood, sweat, tears, energy, dollars, and votes so that you could have a majority,” Citizen Action of New York’s Stanley Fritz said during a rally at the Capitol. “Why? So you could do what you did the last session. And now a couple of white dudes with buzz cuts and MAGA flags [criticize the reforms] and you want to backtrack?”
Advocates initially applauded lawmakers for approving sweeping pretrial criminal justice reforms limiting cash bail for most crimes and forcing prosecutors to hand over evidence earlier as part of the state budget last year.
But the changes sparked a firestorm of criticism from Republicans and law enforcement officials, who highlighted cases of repeat offenders being released. The public backlash grew as moderate Senate Democrats called for corrections.
In response, Senate Majority Leader Andrea Stewart-Cousins (D-Yonkers) pitched a new set of plans that would end all cash bail but let judges have more discretion over who should be released after an arrest. Judges would be allowed to take into consideration past criminal history and whether the person accused might be a flight risk.
Senators admitted there is no legislation in the works to back up the proposals, which has some law enforcement groups wary of any promises.
“Until we see the exact bill language, it is too soon to say whether the Senate’s proposal will fix the crisis in our criminal justice system,” said Patrolman’s Benevolent Association President Pat Lynch.
He called restoring judges’ discretion to hold those deemed dangerous while awaiting trial “a step in the right direction.”
Senate Democrat spokesman Mike Murphy defended the overhauls, saying they would “remove the distinction between rich and poor by eliminating cash bail, make most crimes subject to automatic release and require a showing of clear and convincing evidence for pretrial detention with a number of procedural safeguards. This is good for both fairness and for public safety.”
Yet the move has drawn deep divisions between Dems in the Senate and their colleagues in the Assembly, who have banded together behind Speaker Carl Heastie (D-Bronx) and called for patience.
“I think much of the reaction is strategic, on the part of opponents, and exaggerated,” Assemblyman Marcos Crespo (D-Bronx) said. “The law was just passed. We should take a step back and tone down the emotions. When the time comes, there’s always a time to revisit everything we do, but a month after it’s taken effect is not the right time to know whether it’s effective or not.”